Gravity's Fallen Angel 2: Rising Angels, Fallen Demons
by AngelPines
Summary: Answers are still hard to come by, even with a year living in this dimension. At least I've got the twins beside me as we recover from last summer. But now that the final bell has rung, and we're finally out of school… it's time to put the trauma behind me. We're going back to the Falls, and I'm finally laying my demons to rest. For good this time. Indefinite hiatus!
1. Here We Go Again

****Disclaimer: Back from my very long break, ready for midterms, conventions, and the start of a brand new story!****

 ** **This sequel has been long awaited, and trust me when I say that I've been waiting to post this for a while. As you can recall earlier back in the first story about that alternate ending I said I would post during the end of Weirdmageddon. If you want to find it, go check out my anthology story. It's one of the first few chapters, showing an alternate take on one of the final scenes.****

 ** **Gravity's Fallen Angel has been almost fully edited now, with corrected grammar and spelling, tenses, and slightly new material. Chapters 70-75 are almost ready, and should be up sometime soon. The prologue also refers back to the in-between story Analyzing, which talks about Mabel's troubles after the summer.****

 ** **Gravity Falls is not and never will be my property!****

"Speaking"

 _ _Thinking__

* * *

Elaine's POV

Salty, cool air filled my lungs as I breathed in deeply, letting the sound of crashing waves fill my ears. The slight cool in the June breeze blew strands of hair around my face and could be felt through my flannel shirt, as the rest of my hair was pulled back into a messy bun. Had to admit, while the bus ride took a while, the trip was definitely worth it. Sitting there, surrounded by the sounds of the sea, really made me feel right at home. In a familiar place. Gulls cawing overhead, discarding broken shells around me from their food, and chasing the fish that swam in the waters that occasionally sported whitecaps. Or perhaps the large tanker boats that brought supplies from either farther or lower on the coast, but still set on its destination. __Yep... familiar. Now... continue.__

 _ _In... out... in... out.__ Times like that... helped ease my worries. Let my mind wander, and forget my troubles. __In... out... in... out.__ I had come to the nearest beach, located in Alameda, to clear my head. Piedmont wasn't as close to the water as I would've liked, so I had to make due. Besides, Mrs. Bolivar encouraged the idea of mediation.

That's what I had been told to do, at least a few times each week. Relax, and empty my mind. With having a d... demon run rampant in there for several weeks, it was nice to have it all to myself. No fear of my inner struggles, or problems being thrown out into the open. I had my laptop, and my therapist to confide in.

Same with Dipper and Mabel. The girl had come to a few of my sessions, and had managed to move past her own troubles relating to Weirdmageddon. How, when I chose to write chapters once again about people I met in my laptop and not my journal, Dipper and I saw how she hated herself for giving the rift to Bill. While Ford and I still knew we were partially responsible, and I had somewhat moved past it, Mabel hadn't. In the end, she was the final tipping point.

A few trips to the therapist, with Mr. And Mrs. Pines' approval after seeing how much their daughter had changed since returning home, and the energetic child I knew and loved began to return. It was several weeks, maybe two or three months, before we had the old Mabel back. Of course, even with that, and the painkillers I smuggled to Dipper to help with his injured shoulder since his parents didn't knew about the injury, I... still had trouble healing.

Gone were the constant night terrors, thanks to sleeping medication. But... PTSD was a hard thing to move on from. Trauma was something that was very hard to move past, and while it was almost a year since it had happened... memories could still be fresh when they wanted to be. And such memories were fresh right now, despite my attempts to meditate.

All because... school was over.

Thanks to my mental age being a year older than the body I was in, and how the time of this dimension compared to when I first entered it, I had entered grade 12 as I would have back home. I had graduated, and was now in that odd rush to figure out what the heck I was to do with my life. Thing was... I didn't have a sweet clue. I had told Ford and Dipper my ideas about making a successful fantasy video game franchise mimicking my adventures from the summer, with everything I'd learned.

But how could that apply now? True, thanks to the people of Gravity Falls who knew about my dimensional problem, I had received identification that allowed me to pass as a resident of this world. It helped when a lot of the people in this version of the United States weren't... the smartest. The stories of Trembley showed flaws in the government back then, and with how easy it was to stop the charges against Stan, they were still present today.

I could go to university, or college, but... it felt weird. Going on with my life, as if nothing had happened. I couldn't ignore it, and I knew that. Dipper knew that, and Mabel knew that. And, of course, Mrs. Bolivar knew that.

Which was why I had arrived at the beach to try and clear my thoughts.

Which was why I... was going back to Gravity Falls.

Lay my demons to rest. How painfully ironic that statement was when I first heard it from my therapist, and how it remained ironic months later. "All 'cause that stupid necklace had to return from nowhere," I sighed. I didn't know how, or why, but the angel wings necklace I left at his statue had returned to me. The window was open, with myself recalling very clearly it being closed, and the charm warm in my hand form being held by someone else.

H-how was that? How did it get there? H-he had said he would return one day, yeah, but no way could it have been that soon? If he had returned, someone would've known. Anyone. __But... nothing. No one had seen me place it there, and so no one knew it returned to me.__ Well, now that I thought about it, that wasn't exactly true.

Dipper had crept away from the fire to see me place it there. Thankfully, I never said anything that would have revealed too much. I doubted he knew I had caught him. __Oh, curiosity is going to be the end of him. It almost was last summer, and it probably will in the end.__ Oooh... dark thoughts. I should change the direction there.

I had been in contact with people back in the town too. Kat and Wendy would call and chat about high school, and how the supernatural had been relatively calm. Gnomes would cause a little bit of trouble, and Wendy saw her dad hanging around the manotaurs. __Oddly, that never surprised me when I first heard of it.__ Asger was still dating the redhead, and kept in contact with her back in Daytona. He even sent me a few pictures of him at the Daytona 500, with a small video too.

... I couldn't hear straight for five minutes.

"Stupid cars. Stupid choice to use earbuds," I muttered, crossing my arms. I sat on a wooden bench overlooking the water, with a giant pine tree blocking the sun. All in all, everything was... normal. If it wasn't for my mental state, and my lasting injuries, I could have thought it was a normal summer. All of the wounds and the concussion I sustained in Weirdmageddon went away, except for two of them.

The mark on my right side, where Bill drove his nail into me and almost made me bleed to death. It left a gruesome dark red scar, that went from my chest down to my hips. And the second was my left ankle from the tower explosion. Since I was forced to walk on it for days until I got proper treatment, I still walked with an odd limp. Not enough to really notice, but enough to slow down my running.

"And now... here we are." I stood up from the bench I had chose to do my thinking, having picked it on my first trip there back in October, and headed on my way. The soles of my sneakers left imprints in the soft dirt where I once sat, and followed the grey pebbled trail. There I was, preparing my bag once again. Tomorrow, we would board the bus to the sleep town in rural Oreon. I... could I do that? Put my demons to rest? It-it wouldn't be simple, no. __But I have to do it. I need to do this.__

My feet carried me to the sidewalk, as I could hear the car engines even down where I was. The bus came to a halt at the marked stop in beside of me, and I went to join the line of people getting on. __For them. For Dipper and Mabel.__ I would not let the demon hurt them, or me, again.

 _ _I swear it.__

* * *

 ** **It took a while to find a suitable waterfront location around Piedmont, and the idea seemed suitable for Elaine to think things over.****

 ** **This chapter is more or less to set the scene, and catch up on what's been happening. I've plotted everything for the sequel, so I know where to go with this. After all, like GFA, the prologue was always going to be a short thing. Now then... throw on your sheets with holes cut in them and grab your pumpkins! It's the Spooking Hour!****

 ** **Happy Halloween, and welcome back!****

 ** **Angel****


	2. Next Stop: Gravity Falls

**Disclaimer: Um... still working on 70-75. Midterms slowed down progress, but they WILL be up soon. Just need to finish 72-75, then post all six together.**

 **Also... what!? When I posted GFA at the very beginning, it took a long time to get where it was. Thanks everyone for showing interest in that prologue!**

 **Ms. Cipher16: Thanks for clearing up the confusion. Now I know what you mean by that.**

 **Sp00kyT00ns: Alright. I'll try to remember that. Sorry for the long wait, but the edits took longer than I thought.**

 **Lunar Moon Butterfly: Curse you, grammar!**

 **Guest: Again? I've been posting a ton of stuff since GFA ended. I do write other stuff, after all. But I'm glad you're happy to see this series pick up.**

 **Luckygurrl12: Back? I never left! The revised thing is almost done, and I am extremely glad for that.**

 **Guest (another one): Thanks. Hope that long wait will be worth it!**

 **Cynder Terror of Skies: Back with GFA? I've been throwing up chapters with the anthology all summer. While they're not all canon, some information is. TLG has been on hiatus for a while, if you didn't already know. By the way, what's with the random W?**

 **jg2016: Yes! Pacifica already had a bigger role in GFA than in the show, but we still have much more in store for her in the sequel. Gideon will be around too, but his role will be smaller than that of the first story. The teens will appear, but not as often. Mostly, we're involving the usual crew, a few background characters, and some people that are hardly mentioned.**

 **RainbowCelin: Her stubbornness was a key thing in letting her survive. Plus, her dedication towards the twins after escaping.**

 **By the way,**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

Elaine's POV

"Here are your refills, Elaine. They should last you until you return in a few months. If need be, I will fax your uncle about getting more at the mall's pharmacy."

"Thank you, Mrs. Bolivar." I graciously took the container, and slipped the orange plastic case inside a pocket in my flannel, making sure it wouldn't fall out by accident. "We'll be leaving in a few hours, and Dana figured it would make sense to do this at the last minute."

The moment I had returned from the park, Mrs. Pines had ushered me into her car and drove off to the hospital. My bags hadn't been packed yet, but she had assured me I would have time once I was done. Mabel had more to pack, what with her stash of needles and yarn. I was about the same amount as Dipper in terms of quantity of luggage, so that should be a breeze. The pills on my person, simple white ones, were to help me sleep. The quantity in dosages had decreased over the months, but they were still a thing. Nightmares... not as excessive as they were at the start, but they were there.

Far, far in the back of my mind. I-I could still feel... him. His claws, piercing my side and letting precious blood flow. The absolute terror written on Mabel's face as he was seconds from snapping his fingers, s-so close to ending her life. I-I would have terrors, imaging that had happened. The horrific event scarring my mind, and forcing me to imagine her neck snapping at an unnatural angle, o-or her brain bursting from its... Weirdmageddon hurt, and even now, months later in a new year, I-I had troubles moving past. _I really hope this trip will be worth it._ "-trailed off again." I snapped back to the older woman across from me, and smiled nervously.

"I, uh, s-sorry. Just... thinking." Mrs. Bolivar nodded in understanding, knowing exactly what I meant. That's what I liked about her. Unlike the twins, Stan, and Ford, this was her specialty. She was very good at reading emotions, and phrases to get the meanings behind them.

"It's fine to be nervous, Elaine. The method to write your time last summer in a different format seems to have worked well." A small amused smile appeared, and she reached into a drawer beside her before pulling out... a pen. _A... pen... yes!_ I happily took it from her, pressing the cool writing utensil against my cheek.

"Oh, pen, have I missed you!" Mrs. Bolivar laughed, knowing I was overreacting and putting on a show for her, but I couldn't help it. Whenever I tried to write in my journal, Mabel would swoop in and take the pen before disappearing again. She would do it when I wasn't around too, leaving me with pencils. Not that that was a bad thing. I used pencils to draw because they made less of a mess, but my steadfast way of writing wasn't having it. It was pens, or nothing.

A bell rang from her phone, having left it on the desk to time our appointment. "Well, that's it for today." She reached over, and turned off the alarm. "I will email Mrs. Pines about the payment, and any more meetings when you return. I hope you have a pleasant summer, Elaine."

"Heh. You and me both. Thanks again, Mrs. Bolivar." I stood up from my feet, pen still in my fingers, and headed for the door. Just as I was about to walk out, I glanced back at her, and gave a wave. "See you in a few months."

"I'll be waiting." With that, I closed the door, and headed along the quiet sterile halls towards the front entrance. Hospitals always gave me mixed feelings. Not that they were a bad place, but it was what could lead you there was what bothered me. I considered myself lucky that Stan never brought me to one when he first found me, something even Ford commented on. And in regards to what led me to my first trip to such building... well, I wasn't the only person emitted to a hospital after Weirdmageddon. But, no doubt about it, I was one of the worst ones they saw.

Seeing the electric doors ahead, and the reception desk, I threw a wave at the woman behind the counter before stepping out. As was the norm, Dana was in her minivan, waiting for me. "Do you have your pills?" I opened the passenger seat, hopping into my seat. Snapping the buckle into place and closing the door, I nodded.

"I should have enough for the trip. Soos should be able to help me out in case I need any more." I did need an adult to go with me, after all. _Soos... is an adult. Still a weird thought sometimes._ "How's Dipper and Mabel?" The elder Pines pulled out of the entrance of the hospital, and began the drive towards the house. The windows were cracked to let in a cool breeze to relieve the California heat, as people outside went about their daily doings.

I couldn't get enough of it. It was just like when I entered the past of Gravity Falls, ten years due to the twins escaping Blendin. It all seemed so peaceful, and at times, I really did forget I was in a different world. Which, actually, was a good a thing. It helped a lot with the adjustment process. "They're almost done packing. Your bus leaves in an hour and a half." A small huff left her, and she shook her head. "They've-a lot happened last summer, and none of you are saying anything. Alex and myself almost didn't want to send you three back."

"Yet you are," I pointed out. She knew something was up within the first few weeks. Dipper had grown a backbone that was not there when he last saw his parents, Mabel had trouble accepting what happened with the rift... and me. "Why?"

"Healing, I suppose. That's what Mrs. Bolivar suggested for you, and the twins do seem set on returning. Mabel really wanted to see those girls she kept talking about again. Candy, Grenda, and... Atlantica?" I giggled at the mistake on the name, and shook my head.

"Pacifica. Pacifica Northwest." At her raised brow, I quickly added, "yes, we know her name's a pun on a location and direction. Specifically, the ones relating to Oregon." Her laughter increased a little there, and I joined in. "Ha ha. Yeah, but they're all really good people. Some started off as mean, but at the end of the summer, we made a lot of friends."

The house was simple, fitting into the subdivision the Pines family lived in. It had a cream paint job on the outside, with a large maple tree in the metal fenced front yard. A tire swing hung from a sturdy branch, and balls and other toys were scattered around the tree's base. _Home, sweet home, Elaine._ Pulling into the driveway, I immediately hopped out and dashed through the front door. "Hey, dorks! I'm back!" Not waiting for a response, I continued my way up the stairs and to my bedroom, not bothering to see if Mr. Pines was home yet. He wasn't, of course. He would be getting off work and meeting us at the bus stop for our departure. I spotted the twins in their room, door open, turn my way as I ran past. Their bags were on their beds, and while Dipper had his gear packed neatly in the large tan book bag, Mabel's suitcase was bursting with yarn and sweaters. _This is what happens when you wear a new sweater every day._

Entering my own room, I went straight to my closet for the red suitcase that Soos had got me at the end of the summer. With the addition of my book bag, I had plenty of space for what I needed. "Let's see... best to head to the washroom first." Retreating to the room down the hall, I took my toothbrush, toothpaste, and brush from my small section in the sink's bottom cupboard. "I'll get the rest later." There was more in my little area that I needed to grab, so one more trip should do it.

"Hey, Elaine?" I got up off the floor, hands full and found Dipper waiting outside the door. "Did you get your medication?"

"Yep. Also..." I reached back under, and quickly brought out one last thing. "Got the pain pills." A small smile appeared, recalling what I had done for him in the past. His wound stopped hurting after a few weeks, but having them nearby didn't hurt. "Care to help me pack? Unless, you're still doing so yourself?"

"I'm done now. Mabel's sitting on the lid of hers and trying to zipper it shut." Together, we retraced my steps back to the bedroom, and he began to shuffle through my closet. While he did that, I moved to my desk by the window, and began to shuffle through the drawers. I did not have much furniture, as this was initially a guest room, so my clothes were organized in an odd fashion. _Thank goodness everything delicate is over here. No way do I want Dipper stumbling onto a bra... again._ His face when red... still hilarious.

His crush one me never really did fade away. If anything, it remained stagnant. Not moving any further, but I could catch him drifting into space staring at me at odd times. Even if he knew I wasn't interested, those feelings must have been hard to move past. It didn't bother me, actually. If anything, it helped improve my mental state. I would spend more time with him when I got into a state of... fear, and... depression. "I have most of your jeans and flannels packed, plus your shorts from your costume, your party clothes... why do you still have this?" I turned around, arms full of undergarments and socks, and found Dipper at the closet holding up the dress.

The dress Bill gave me.

"I... I don't... no. I don't need it." I moved to the suitcase, throwing the lid shut and opened the zipper pocket on top of it. Stuffing them clothes inside without properly sorting, I glanced back at the black and yellow dress. "Just, it's... put it away, please." Why I kept it, I had no idea. It might have been because, ignoring the fact it was involving Bill, it was a reminder of the trip to Mewni. The Blood Moon Ball was a memory I enjoyed, even if the last few minutes of it I tried to block from my mind. _What he said..._ "if I need a dress, I can just go out and buy one. I have money from last summer, and allowance from your parents, remember?"

"Okay then." He hung it back up, and closed the door. Returning to my bed, he watched as I brought my book bag over to the desk and began to stuff a notepad, my sketch pencils, a sharpener, and my journal into the open pocket. The journal. _Oh boy, I miss writing on paper._ "Are you going to bring your laptop?"

"Of course. I don't need your parents finding out about my journal entries, even if they're password locked. Plus, I need to look for schools, remember?" I moved said laptop, a simple black thing, and its charger and mouse inside. Closing it shut, I dropped it back on the bed where Dipper now sat. "Dipper? So, um..."

"You don't know what to do about university, right?" _Ah, Dipper. Why must you read me so well?_ "Well, with the courses you took this year, getting your major shouldn't be too hard." Dropping down onto the mattress next to him, with my bags on his left side, I nodded at what he meant.

"I know. My career path shouldn't be too hard to get, but that's not the problem. With everything I experienced last year, I-I just can't imagine continuing on like nothing ever happened. I feel like something would come back, which is why I'm doing this, you know? It's why I'm going back." I propped a hand under my chin, resting my elbow on my leg. "If I want to go forward with my future, I need to go back to where it all happened. It's not going to be easy, I know, but I-I have to do it." A hand rested on my shoulder, and while I felt myself tense for a brief second, relaxed under Dipper's grip.

"I know this is going to be difficult for you, but Mabel and I will be right there to help you." He patted the spot his hand rested, before retracting it. "Even if you tell us no."

"Hehe. Figured that would happen." I heard footsteps echo outside the door, and we turned to find Mabel standing at the entrance. "Get on over here, kiddo." She scrambled over to us, and sat down on my other side, putting me in the middle. "Heard all that, huh?"

"Yep. I can't wait to see Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica again." Her face was bright, which made me and her brother happy and relived. That brief time, at the beginning of the school year, where she had trouble accepting what happened during Weirdmageddon and had trouble... I was so glad Dipper and I caught onto it and did something.

"Same with Wendy, Asger, and Kat. Hey, Dipper? Any word on the Sea Grunks?" He gave a small laugh at the nickname I had christened the older men, and shook his head.

"No. They've been giving updates on their travels, but other than that, I don't know anything." He raised a brow, before giving another small bout of laughter. "You're the one who speaks to them more than I do."

"And that's saying something," Mabel added.

"Hey! This is what you two get for letting me store it in my room." With that, we all went into giggles, and I pulled the siblings backwards onto the bed. Laying on our backs, our laughter echoed about the small bedroom. "Alright, alright. Now, seeing that I got both of you here, let's finish my packing." The next chapter of our adventures in rural Oregon town was about to start, after all. I would like to be prepared for it this time around.

(Time Skip)

The car ride to the bus stop was a quiet one, soaking up the last few minutes before the tiring trip across the states. There was only one bus that was a direct trip, and at some points, there would be pit stops for gas and food. After all, it did take a painful fifteen hours to get there. _Get ready for tired legs and a cramped back, Elaine._ "Well, kids, it looks like you've got everything."

We all nodded to Mrs. Pines, and she bent down to hug her children. Smiling at the scene, I turned back to her husband. Alex stepped forward, and handed me the three tickets. "We'll send the return tickets at the end of the summer. Keep an eye on them, alright?"

"Yes, sir." Alex chuckled, and ruffled the top of my head. My ponytail swished back and forth from the motion, and I swapped places as Dipper and Mabel moved over to him. I walked over to Dana in turn, and got a hug from her. "I'll try to make sure they don't get into any trouble."

"It's... it's not them I'm entirely worried about." She released me, and gave a quick nod to my pocket. My pills, which were still noticeable where I had stored them. "I know last summer left some bad memories for the three of you, even if the children don't want to get into details. But I have enough of an understanding about you to... please, try to be careful?"

"I'll... I make no promises, but I'll try." I backed up, and adjusted my bag on my back. Taking the handle of my suitcase, I turned to the twins. "Ready?" Dipper adjusted his book bag, it being a much larger one than my own, and Mabel grabbed her suitcase handle with both hands. "Let's go."

It was a lot like when we had left the town, where we progressed to the back after I showed the driver our tickets. Settling down in a row on the side the their parents stood, we tucked our gear under the seats. Mabel got up to crack open the window, and we felt the bus lurch forward. "Bye! Bye, mom! We'll write you! See you in a few months! We love you!" Our shouts echoed out the window, as Dana and Alex waved us off. Pulling out of the bus stop, we began our way towards the highway, and settled back down in our seats.

"Okay, guys. We got more than half a day to get there. What do you suppose we do? I got a few movies on my laptop we could watch, some snacks packed... uh, Mabel?" Dipper and I turned to Mabel, who's face was still staring out the window. "Mabel?"

"Did we have to leave Waddles home?" Oh. Right. The pig had easily adjusted to life in the house, but it was difficult to bring him there on the bus in the first place. While Dana wasn't very fond of him at first, she warmed up to him after he fell asleep at her feet during a movie. They would watch him, and send letters with pictures of how he was doing.

"It was a long ride to bring him here, Mabel," Dipper said. "Mom and dad will keep him occupied while we're gone. Besides, you got to remember Stan and Ford threatened the driver to let us bring him here." The young girl nodded, not entirely encouraged. "Come on. It's going to be a long ride, so maybe getting some sleep will be a good start."

"Did the math beforehand. We're making a stop in Siskiyou County, since it's around the halfway mark between the town and here." I dropped my head back against the leather seat, giving a yawn. Destination: Gravity Falls, Oregon. The travel there shouldn't be too horrible, but... the arrival. I was nervous. How could I not be? Was Ford and Stan going to be there, and were trying to hide it from us? Would things be more easy this summer? _And what about the weirdness? What about that?_

I couldn't stop thinking about the demons. I had no problem with the Henchmaniacs being ripped from the town, and ejected back into the Nightmare Realm. However, I did miss Pyronica. She fought because she had to, same as the others, but she was the one to console me in the Fearamid. She was inappropriate at times, sure, but she was a good person. And what about Pacifica? How was she handling her parents? And Gideon? All of these people I met, I had affected their lives somehow. Yet, in the end, all of it revolved around how weirdness was attracted to the town.

Why, we never really figured out. Would the weirdness, the strange law of the town come into play again? Create trouble, or create incredible memories? _Just... maybe it'd be best to sleep on it._ I rolled onto my side, and dropped my head onto the top of Mabel's. I heard her mumble under me, but she didn't push me off. "Few... minutes..."

* * *

I hated this.

I hated this so much.

Most of the dreams were always presenting similar memories. The Fearamid, the twins-either set, or perhaps both, and... and Bill. Always, always Bill. This one... this one wasn't any different. _Why!? Why does it have to happen now!? Now, of all times!?_

I didn't dream too much, due to my ability from last summer to enter the Mindscape or eject my consciousness into other dimensions. But because of the drainage of the bond with the demon, all of that went out the window. Still, I was prone to lucid dream now and then. Unfortunately, when that did happen... it was always in a nightmare. Night terrors, that would result in me screaming when I woke up, and on the rare occasion, have a breakdown.

Running through the endless corridors, I could hear the insane, twisted cackles approaching from behind. "Come out, come out, Angel! I know you're somewhere around here!" It was-it was either my safety, or the twins, always at risk. I-I just had to hide somewhere, and wait it out. Wait it out until I wake up, that's all. "You really think hiding from me is going to do you any favors? Kid, what's there left for you anyway? It isn't like you got any real family waiting for you."

 _Don't let him get to you. Do not let him get to you. Th-this isn't the real Bill. Bill's gone. This is just your memories playing tricks on you._ "Wake up, Elaine. You gotta wake up now." I had to. I-I had to right n-"AH!"

A hand had snaked its way around my waist, and I was spun around to meet the demon's hard gaze. The arm, when it had spun me around, continuously looped around my waist, binding my arms to my sides. "Found you."

"L-let me go, Cipher!" I thrashed against the blackened limb, desperation fueling my entire being. "I-I need to go find them!" Them, being Dipper and Mabel. Even in lucid dreaming, even in nightmares, I always had to make sure they were safe. And in this certain dream, what my mind was given to play with this time... was them being held captive somewhere in this distorted castle. "I need to find them!"

"Hehehe. Ah ha ha ha! Aw, Angel, you really think you're going to find them?" He leered closer, inches from my face. "You can't protect them. They might try, but in the end, we both know you're beyond repair. You will **always** be under my control. Even if I am no longer there physically, I will never leave you." His eye closed, morphing into a mouth. I immediately leaned back upon seeing the sharpened bloody teeth, as the black tongue hung out in the corner. "You will always be mine. **MINE**." The mouth lashed forward, not even aiming for my mouth, but for my entire face. I screamed, arms flailing to try and protect myself to no avail, and ready to feel the fangs tear into my skin. To rip them apart, and bleed out in my living binds that were his arms-"ELAINE!"

* * *

I snapped forward, shrieking with tears streaking down my face with the horrific nightmare still fresh in my mind. Only after I became more aware of my surroundings, did I realize I had four hands plastered over my mouth, two on either side. Dipper and Mabel stared at me, startled and on alert. A few people sat in the back now, and had turned to watch us. One reaction was of annoyance from my sudden wake up, but the other three were more of pity. My heart beat fiercely in my chest, shoulders trembling as the remnants of the dream still clung to my mind.

"Elaine, what happened?" Dipper retracted his hands, same as his sister. The question was quiet as to not draw any more attention than I already had, but still held a serious tone. "You haven't had a dream like that since you came to Piedmont." I-I hadn't. Things were-this was the worst one in months. Was this because we were heading back to the town, and my mental state was freaking out? I-I had no problem with the farewell, but... but...! "Elaine!"

"I-I'm fine, just another bad dream." It was dark outside, and it appeared that another driver had taken over now. _Guess we passed the halfway point._ "What time is it?"

"Eight at night. We stopped for half an hour a while back for the drivers to switch and take a break." Dipper fished into his bag, and pulled out a granola bar. He silently passed it over, and I began to slowly chew it. "We used the money mom gave us to eat something cooked nearby the bus station. Sorry, but we didn't figure to get anything for you while you slept."

"It's... it's fine." Mabel frowned, not satisfied with my dismissal of my sudden return to the world of the awake. "Mabel, I see that pout."

"It's a pout of sadness, Ellie." Oh no, she pulled out the nickname. "You never took your medication, did you?"

"I passed out before I could... guess I should take them now. Either of you have any water?" Dipper pulled out a water bottle from his bag, while I handed Mabel the granola bar. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the case and twisted the top off. Sliding one of the small, white pills out into an awaiting palm, I quickly threw it into my mouth and took the bottle from the boy. Two gulps of water, and the pill was gone. "There. I should end up falling asleep again soon though." Downside of my medication was that I always took it right before bed. But because I had fallen asleep sooner than normal, that threw off my pattern. _Joy._

"Mabel, you might want to switch places with her." Taking Dipper's suggestion, Mabel shuffled to the side, sitting in the middle as I got up and sat down next to the window. The metal siding felt cool against my body, and I leaned against it, feeling the hum of the engine. The highway lights zoomed by, showing a darkened California road. It was late, and as we were driving away from most towns and cities at the moment, not many cars were out there. "Elaine, say something."

"... I'm scared, okay? I love Gravity Falls, I do. But... it's been one year since I arrived here." That managed to snap his mouth shut. One year ago, this very day in June, I had awoken in the Mystery Shack a bloodied mess. One year ago today... I made my deal with Bill Cipher. "I want to put this behind me, I do. The stress of not knowing what the future holds is no longer hanging over my head is gone, but with my dreams, I-I want them to stop. I want to enjoy this, and have an actual semi-normal summer."

Mabel's head rested on my shoulder, a change from when I used her as a pillow hours ago. "Don't worry, Elaine. We won't let anything happen." She looked over at her brother, smiling. "Right?"

"We're going to stick with you so much, you'll be sick of our company. This summer, it's just the Mystery Kids." I laughed a little at the name. Even though I was nearing the age of young adult, I didn't think it was going to outgrow our group any time soon. "Let's get some sleep, guys. We should be there in the morning."

Dipper rested his head against Mabel's shoulder, pinning me more against the wall. _Okay, so this is a chain of people acting like pillows. Alright._ Awkwardly putting my head back on top of Mabel's, I felt my eyelids grow heavy as the sight of the twins falling asleep left me. He was... right. If I had a problem, I could just go to them. We would have a blast this summer, no matter what.

 _And yet..._ slowly, my hand nearest to the wall trailed down to my right jeans pocket. Eyes still closed, I rested three shaking fingers atop its surface. My pills were in my flannel. In my pants pocket though... was something that should not be there. _This cursed piece of jewelry... wherever you are, Bill Cipher, you have no hold on me anymore._ No more mental chains, no more bloody tears. I was through with him. He was gone. Gone, and never coming back. _I... I hope._

* * *

 **Next time, we arrive in the Falls! After all, that's what everyone is waiting for. I hope that this and chapter 1 help set the scene for what the Mystery Kids have been up to.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	3. Welcome Back

****Disclaimer: Last stop is Gravity Falls, Oregon. Will you step off and check out the view? Enjoy the scenery, and please, don't feed the gnomes.****

 ** **Miss Mystery: I've seen them all. It's partially how I got inspired for that Hamilton chapter back in GFA. And boy... that recent one with the dating sim was... interesting. Seriously, I laughed when the high pitched voice in the Shack was assumed to be Bill.****

 ** **Cynder Terror of Skies: You know, I'm not sure if it works in reviews, but emojis work in the private messaging system. Actual ones. Also, thanks for clearing that up.****

 ** **Luckygurrl12: Yep. Even though she knows she'll encounter the supernatural when she arrives, she doesn't want any more danger.****

 ** **guadadominguez4: In GFA, they were cute. Now, Elaine will never forgive him. Still, you can keep hoping. I have the anthology series to keep that ship sailing.****

 ** **RainbowCelin: Spooky, and created from the horror of Weirdmageddon.****

 ** **Calamity Heart and Bill Cipher: Thanks! I won't disappoint!****

 ** **Gravity Falls is not mine, Kat is RillFipher's, and Elaine is mine.****

"Speaking"

 _ _Thinking__

* * *

Elaine's POV

"Elaine! Elaine, wake up! Wake UP!" I felt my head smack against the window as I jolted awake from the noise, as the excited shouting filled my ears and two hands shake my left arm. "Look out the window!" __I slept way too much on this trip, didn't I?__ Perhaps. But then again, I didn't think it was that early in the morning.

Opening my eyes, and wincing at the bright morning sun pouring through the glass, I saw exactly why Mabel was so ecstatic. Towering pine trees sailed past outside, and just a few meters ahead... was the sign. __Wait, the sign!__ "We're here?" Shadows were thrown onto the bus as the light struck the overhanging trees, but one direct beam of sunshine lit up the wooden sign.

Gravity Falls. __I'm... I'm back.__ "It's eight in the morning, and we just entered town limits," Dipper voiced from the end of our row, seeing my eyes plastered to the world outside the window. "Soos should be at the stop waiting to pick us up. Guess this means we're eating breakfast with him and Melody."

"Right. I can't wait to see how the both of them are doing." I straightened up from my position, and ran a hand along my lower back. With how the three of us were slumped on top of each other, it really hurt my back. "You think we'll get the gang together and have a party to celebrate our return?"

Dipper shrugged, and reached under the seat for his bag. In a few minutes, we would be stopping, so it made sense to get ready. "I doubt it. Maybe we can all watch a movie together, and order pizza." Dropping the large bag onto his lap, he turned to us. "Why would they celebrate us coming back?"

"Well, we did kinda save the town," Mabel replied. "Maybe it could be a party to start of summer." That one did seem more likely, but I still doubted it.

Slowly, with the hissing of the brakes, the bus pulled to a stop along the side of the road. "Last stop. Everybody off." Taking our bags and suitcases, we joined the few people in departing the bus. Once the driver was certain everyone was off, the few people in line to get on began boarding. The warmth of the Oregon sun, and the smell of the earth and pines around us... we were back. I-I was back. __Deep breathes. Heh, don't want to get overwhelmed so soon.__

A loud honking broke through my thoughts, and we turned to see a truck parked along the road a few feet down from us. "Dudes!" The familiar face of the Mystery Shack's newest owner popped out of the driver's window, wearing the iconic fez of Grunkle Stan.

"Soos!" The twins and I cheered, before taking up our gear and running over to him. As he unlocked the passenger door, I opened it up and crawled in. We must have caught him before the tourist attraction opened, since he was already in his suit, ready for the day. "How's it going? Mabel, Dipper, hand them over." I allowed Dipper to sit in the passenger seat, and Mabel moved to the back to help me bring in our bags and sit them at our feet. Once everything was settled, we buckled ourselves in and Soos pulled out.

"Pretty great," Soos replied. As we went down the hill into the town, we could see the buildings of the town approach. "Melody and I've been runnin' the Shack with no problem." His smile widened, and he glanced at Dipper. "Dude, I really think we got something special, you know? We've been close ever since you helped hook us up last July."

"If you decide to marry her, I fully support that decision," I said, seeing Mabel about to give an excited squeal. "Easy there, kid. You can obsess over crushes and stuff later." __Still way too early for this.__ "So Soos, seeing how it's still early in the morning and we haven't eaten yet, what's the plan for food?"

"How's about we eat at Greasy's, before we go unpack your stuff?" We all nodded happily at the idea, and Soos took off through the town. Compared to the continuing construction when we left, everything was now fully rebuilt. Buildings, homes, and the like. Everything was fixed... except for the Northwest statue, but after what I heard from Ford, that did not shock me in the slightest. Instead, what took its place in the podium was something that Dipper and Mabel couldn't believe. And I certainly couldn't believe either.

The flag. The same exact flag I had sewn together during Weirdmageddon was standing proudly in a pole mounted in the center. It was a small flagpole, not ones that stand several dozen feet tale, but it was there, flapping in the breeze with small stitches to mend possible holes found in it after the battle. __I thought that things was burned. Or destroyed, or something.__ "You guys see it too, right?"

"I am having trouble believing it myself," Dipper remarked. "I thought Mayor Tyler made that rule about not speaking about what happened." Which we all knew was a really dumb rule, but as long as it wasn't in public, then we were fine. It wasn't as if Blubs and Durland were actually going to taser anyone. "Why did they do that?"

"Oh, the flag? Yeah, Mayor Tyler thought it'd be a nice way to remember what happened without making a big deal and get questions. Most tourists don't ask about it, and those that do get vague answers. People sort of just stopped once they saw we weren't going to be clean about it." Well, that did make sense. We would always remember what happened last summer, but anything too drastic would draw questions. __Oh. Here we are.__ As the restaurant appeared on my right, Soos pulled the truck into the parking lot. "You dudes can get whatever you want." The twins' faces brightened at that, and all but sprinted for the front door. Chuckling, I patted the man on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Soos. Got to say, you've definitely grown a lot since I last saw you." The way he spoke was a little different, and how he carried himself was a little more mature. But other than that, he was still the same goofy and lovable man who worked at the Shack last summer and the summers before that.

Soos smiled at that, before his happy expression dropped a little. "Thanks, Elaine. How's, um...?"

"The healing?" My statement was vague, but I knew what he was asking. "It's rough, but... I think I can handle this summer." __I just wish Stan and Ford would be here.__ "Let's head in." Taking the lead, I followed where the twins last stood and entered the building. Soos stepped in right behind me, and we found the twins talking animatedly with-Pacifica? "You?"

The blonde girl spun around to look up at me, smiling. A small smudge of what looked like flour was on her left cheek, and she had a white apron on over her usual clothes. "Hey, Elaine." I slid into the booth after Soos, as the twins took the seat on the other side.

"Hey? Pacifica, are you working here?" She reached into a pocket of the apron, pulling out a notebook and a small pencil stuck in its coiled top.

"Mom and dad didn't like it, but we need all the money we can get. Not that we're broke or anything, but they insisted we try to rebuilt or fortune as quickly as we can." __And apparently, that means having her work here.__ "Asger should be arriving later this week. Didn't expect you dorks to arrive so early." The last line was directed towards the twins, raising a brow.

Ah, there was our Pacifica. A combination of attitude, and love, all wrapped up in a purple bow. __Man, I missed this kid.__ "Mabel and I will have the pancakes," Dipper ordered. "Two glasses of milk."

"Number one special," Soos added, "with an orange juice.

"Hmmm... breakfast sandwich for me, Pacifica, and an orange juice. The egg and bacon one, with a plain bagel." She muttered the orders under her breath, scribbling them down before pocketing the notes.

"We'll have those out in a few minutes." She began to retreat to the kitchen, before flashing a smile back at us. "It's nice to have you back." With that, she disappeared behind the door. __Hmm... I wonder if that small crush of hers on Dipper is still there?__ It wouldn't hurt to look into that at some point.

"Hey, Soos? How are we all going to live in the Mystery Shack?" Dipper asked, taking the fork and knife out of the napkin roll in front of him. "Not that having your girlfriend there at the same time is a problem, but isn't your grandmother living with you too?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, dude. She decided to stay with Reggie while you're staying here. With all of those creepy wax figures gone, we renovated the room for us. Two beds, gaming consoles. Normal adult stuff." __Soos, you are living the adult life I want to have.__ "What have you three been up to?"

"High school next year!" Mabel cheered, springing onto the topic. "We're looking into what courses we want to take, and what clubs they offer."

"Last summer really helped us grow up," Dipper added, smiling at his sister's enthusiasm. "This bully I've had for years finally left me alone, after I... I, uh..." he trailed off, and turned to me for help.

"Oh. Um, Dipper... pinned the kid to a locker, after he brought Mabel into the conversation." Soos' eyes widened, and I quickly brought up my hands. "It's not what you think! He didn't physically threaten him. But the movement was enough to show he was through being pushed around." __To be honest, the way he did it was almost like when I threatened Gideon when he took the Shack from us.__ Alex and Dana didn't believe it either when it happened. But after what he had done to Dippy Fresh, and Gideon, it was clear Dipper could stand for himself. Dipper was by no means muscular. I had more arm strength than he did... and I think Mabel did too. But after all of the monsters he had faced, some thirteen year old boy had nothing on him. __Actually, maybe he does have muscle. Somewhere, y'know... in those noodle arms of his.__

"I didn't get in trouble either," Dipper added. "Enough people saw what happened, so he got a suspension for three days." He wished it was longer. From the view stories he told me about the larger blonde boy that I had only seen in the scrapbook memory from last summer, he had been bothering Dipper for years. "Anyways, h-how about we move onto better topics now."

Other topics, such as where... Stan and Ford were. I had hoped to see them pick us up. Instead, Soos hadn't brought them up once. It all still remained a mystery, and with each question that was never voiced, it increased my internal worry. Where were they? __Where are you, Grunkle Stan? Ford?__

(Time Skip)

"And here you are. Soos is leading a tour right now, but we're closing early since you three just arrived. He wants to have a small party to celebrate your return for the summer." Melody smiled at the doorway of the attic room, watching us place our bags onto our beds. The floor, since the very last time we had stepped foot in the Shack, was swept clean. The triangular window was clean of dust, and sported no fractures. No cobwebs, or mold anywhere from what I could see. It was the exact same building from the outside, right down to the fallen S of the sign, but.. slightly cleaner. __Still has that odd smell to it,__ I thought with a sniff. __Place still has the old smell... perfect.__

It was perfect. Clean, and not a health hazard, but continued to have the signs of age and wear. The green shirt Soos always wore fit comfortably over her body, complete with brown hat. It was a strange sight at first, seeing Soos in Stan's tux. Of course, it wasn't his personal tuxedo. The younger male had to have gone out and bought it himself, but the fez was the same.

"Thanks, Melody. By the way, what was with that creepy goblin statue in the gift shop?" Dipper's question made the young woman laugh, holding a hand over her mouth.

"That would be Soos' attempt to make a statue in your uncle's honor. It's sweet, but the eyes and smile are a little creepy." __Yeah... that's going to scare me for a while.__ She closed the door, and I dropped onto my bed.

"Ooh, man. I missed this." The kids laughed, and Mabel dove into her suitcase to begin unpacking. "Seriously, I miss this room more than you think."

"Nice of her to clean it up too." Dipper looked around the room. Some items, like the odd machine at the foot of his bed and all of the stuff underneath the loft by the door were still there. But the mattresses were new. In fact, all of the beds were. All were on legs now, but Mabel's was the only one to maintain a headboard. "This feels nice, doesn't it? We haven't even done much yet."

"And we already accomplished so much!" Mabel spun around, having pinned up the few posters she brought with her. She held up her hands, and showed splinter-free hands. "The walls have been sanded too!"

"Well, with all of the renovations after this place was destroyed last summer, it wouldn't surprise me." __Now that I think about it, wouldn't that mean Ford's study had__ _ _survived Weirdmageddon?__ It wasn't actually part of the house, and while I was unsure if the entrance to it was still around, the actual room should still be there. After all, we did burn all of the Bill memorabilia. I had even seen the lab itself in my final days. It was fine, which meant that should be too.

"And we don't have to make our beds either." No, we did not. Mabel had her pink blankets and stuffed toys placed at the end, Dipper had his patched-up blue blanket, and I had my cream colored comforter. He placed his bag at the foot of the bed, while Mabel kept her suitcase open, just as they had done last summer. As for me, I slid my suitcase under the bed and left my book bag by the side. __I'll move my clothes and some medical stuff into the dresser later.__ "They really prepared for us."

"More so than we could say for Stan... where is he?" I ran a hand through my ponytail, wincing at a small knot at the end of it. "You don't think something bad happened to him and Ford, do you?" Mabel jumped off her bed, and dropped onto mine.

"Maybe they're planning a surprise entrance for us. Soos did say they were closing early for a party." Dipper thought over that reasoning, and it did seem pretty likely. True, we could got with the scary approach and say something... bad, had happened, but Mabel's idea seemed pretty realistic.

"True. That could be it." He moved over to my bed, and sat down on my other side. Sighing, he looked around our small room, before giving a laugh. "Hehe. It's funny, you know? It seems like we were only just here a few days ago."

"Well, with all we went through, it makes sense." I wrapped an arm around Mabel, brushing my fingers through her hair. "I... I missed this place." Scary memories and nightmares aside, a part of me missed the town, more than I was willing to admit. Piedmont helped with my healing process, but Gravity Falls was more home than that. __If I only could stay here, heal, and be with the twins.__ Shame that was not something could work. "Let's head downstairs. Judging from how quiet it is, I guess the tours are over."

Getting up from the bed, we headed towards the door before Dipper stopped short in front of me. "Wait." He ran back to his bag, and we watched him drop the brown furry hat onto his head. Wendy's hat. He did wear it back in Piedmont, but unlike his old baseball hat, it was a lot warmer. Mabel and I had to force him to stop wearing it on warmer days or else he'd get faint. True, it was still summer, but Oregon was cooler. __That and the amount of trees blocking the sun helps.__ "Now I'm ready." The flaps covered his ears, and it sank a little in the front of his head, but he looked extremely proud and excited I couldn't help but chuckle. Not in a teasing way, but how infectious his attitude was.

He moved past me, and took the lead in exiting the room and going down the stairs. Our footfalls echoed down the wooden steps, and Dipper guided us into the gift shop. Just like when we arrived, over by the eyeball statue was the creepy stone sculpture of Stan. The base read that he was the founder, and he was leaning on his 8-ball cane. __Wow, he made that mouth way too large.__ Sparing a glance over my shoulder, I saw Mabel had gone over to Melody as she was ringing in the last customer, and Soos was returning from outside after bidding the tour bus farewell. Dipper moved up alongside me in looking at the Stan rock, just as confused as I was.

"The eyes really freak me out," he whispered, low enough for Soos not to hear. "It's like it's staring at me."

"Yeah, but very crookedly." I stood up on my toes, and narrowed my eyes as if to force my glasses to zoom in. "Weird..."

"HELLO!"

"Aah!" The two of us screamed, and I stumbled backwards onto the floor as I lost balance. Dipper got my arm as I went down, and ended up falling next to me. The loud voice erupted into a fit of giggles, and a blue head popped out from behind stone Stan.

"What's up, Elaine? Did you miss me?" __Of course it'd be Kat.__ The younger teen's face was split into a wide grin, clearly amused by our reactions. I could hear Mabel's laughter by the counter as well, before hearing a gasp and her footsteps dashing out of the door. __Judging from that exit, I bet her friends came over too.__ "Give me your hand."

"Missed you too, you nut." She pulled me to my feet, and Dipper got to his own without the help. "Our other member of our group should be here in a few days."

"I know. Pacifica kept me updated. A little odd to see at first, and her parents hate it, but Lazy Susan pays her pretty well so they let her continue." Her appearance hadn't really changed since the last time I had seen her, except the jean jacket she had worn during Pioneer Day around her waist was now actually being put to use. "Me and the girls are here for the party."

"Dipper! My girls are here!" The three of us turned to the door, seeing Mabel had thrown it open. Grenda and Candy were right behind her, smiling and waving. Right behind them, wearing the blue and white pine tree hat that she took from the boy beside me, was the other girl in my squad.

"Hey, Dipper." Wendy walked past the girls, who immediately began walking about what had happened since they had last seen each other, and smirked down at twin. "How've you been?"

"Wendy! It's been, uh... great. Great, hehe. You... still have my hat." __Wow, does he sound awkward.__ It could have been the previous crush he had on her before it faded away, but I guess it was still hard to have a decent conversation with her. __More oddness he has to outgrow, I suppose.__

"And you still have mine." Her eyes trailed to me, the humor appearing to dial back. "Hey, Elaine." She reached forward, and I welcomed the hug. __She still smells of pine needles.__ "Miss college girl."

"Yeah, yeah. Not yet, and you know that. Give me some time to figure that mess out." I released her, and smoothed out my flannel. "This is... a pretty small party." Grenda, Candy, the twins, Kat, Wendy, me, Soos, and Melody. Pacifica was working, and Asger wasn't going to be there until the end of the week. "What can we do with nine people?"

Melody walked around the counter, and over to our little huddle. Mabel and the girls moved closer to us, so we could all hear what she had to say. "We have some chips and dip. Soos had also told me about some board games in a closet that we could play."

"I believe I know which closet you're talking about, but let's try and choose one that won't risk our lives." It was the first day. I was still having my mind adjust and not break down on me. If I was going to dive into the weirdness of the town, then I wanted a bit of a warning. __Just... wind down, and enjoy this. It's the first day back. Nothing is going to go crazy so soon.__ Yet the gnomes all happened within a few days, despite it feeling all rushed due to my adjustment period... "yeah, let's worry over stuff at a later date."

(Time Skip)

I snatched a ruffled chip from the bag, and took the jar from Kat's hands. __Aw, ranch dip. This is a good day.__ Wendy, Kat, and I were circled around the floor in front of the TV, sharing tales of what school had been like this year. Melody, Soos, and the kids had adjusted the couch so that they could sit on that and reach the table in the room. The cards were divided up, and while I could not tell what game they were playing, it seemed Mabel was winning.

"I think Stan taught her," Kat said though a mouthful of chips. "She's doing way too well."

Wendy laughed, and reached her hand out for the dip jar. "Bet she'd do really well as the future owner of the Mystery Shack if Soos ever retired. Not like when she tried to run it last year, but with some training."

"I can actually see that. But it won't happen. Mabel has ideas on craft stores, making a line of sweaters, and other stuff like that." It surprised me that they were actually good ideas. They weren't as childish as I would've thought they'd be, and the sweater one could really work. How many kids were that quick with a pair of needles and that skilled in making clothing?

The laughter from the small table made me smile, before a frown worked its way to the surface. "Hey, um... I'm gonna... get something to drink. I'll be right back." Ignoring the slightly confused looks, I got to my feet and retreated to the kitchen. I could hear the girls' voices pick up again, diving back into a previous conversation topic we last had on her relationship with the missing member of our group.

I fished into the fridge, bringing out a can of Pitt Cola. The room was dark, as we didn't have all of the lights on in the house since it was still daylight outside. Not pitch dark, but as dark as a room could get with only a window to offer light. It actually reminded me a little of when I went to get a drink during Summerweenm except with... less fight-or-flight. __Saws and gasoline bins are still in here. Guess Soos didn't change as much as I would've thought.__ Now, the room was more like a sad depressed corner, instead of the feeling of being pressured for answers. "Why isn't anyone answering properly on where they are?" No straight answers, and no clear answers from the walkie-talkie. "Grunkle Stan... I miss you." I slumped on a seat at the table, staring down at the cracked open pink can. "You, and Ford..."

A rapping sound came from the door on the residential side of the Shack, instead of the gift shop. "Elaine! Can you get that?" Mabel's voice rang out from the living room, and I got back to my feet again.

"I got it!" I hurried to the door, and quickly readjusted my ponytail while still holding my drink. Grasping the knob, I opened the door with a quickly thrown-on smile. "He... oh..." __They... they are...!__

"Guess you weren't expectin' to see me, huh, kiddo?"

"... Grunkle Stan!" The shout left me, and I scrambled to put the can on the stairs before throwing myself into the man's arms. His rough chuckles filled the small space, as I gripped the dark brown jacket he was wearing. A white t-shirt was visible underneath, as he had the coat unzippered. The golden necklace he wore was hanging from his neck, complete with dark brown pants and filthy mud covered brown sneakers. A red toque was on his head, showing signs of being worn for long periods of time, possibly from out on the boat. "Y-you're back!"

"I believe Soos never told them like you requested?" Snapping my head back, I grinned at the other twin right behind Stan. Ford, still in his usual outfit, tucked a red book away into the inside of his tan coat. His face brightened as he saw I had turned my attention to him, and held a hand out. I quickly reached a hand out from the hug and shook it, earning a small laugh from him. "You weren't expecting us, were you?"

"You have any idea how bothered I was when I couldn't get any reply on if you were or not? Soos wasn't being clear, and you kept avoiding the subject during the chats!" I finally released Stan, and turned to look back into the Mystery Shack. "Hey, guys! Get out here! Your uncles' have arrived!" The instant the word 'uncle' left me, the rush of the twins' feet greeted my ears. The two slid to a stop at the opposite door, and broke into bright grins.

"Grunkle Stan! Great Uncle Ford!" The names were shouted together, and they rushed the men as I jumped to the side to avoid being brought down. Dipper skid to a halt, but Mabel wasted no time in tackling both in a hug, trying to wrap her arms around both at the same time. "You're here!" She looked up at them with stars in her eyes, and I could see Ford was slightly taken aback by the action. __So... I'm still the only other one beside Stan who gets an odd reaction whenever they hug him?__

"Hehe. Nice to see you two again too. Stan pried the girl off of them, and tousled her hair. "Sorry for keepin' you three in the dark, but we figured you'd appreciate the surprise."

"Does this mean you'll be here all summer?" Dipper asked, turning from him to Ford, fists clenched in excitement and bouncing on his heels.

"Yes, we will be here until you return to Piedmont," he answered. "Our time in the Arctic proved beneficial, and we had encountered countless other sea creatures as well." His eyes flickered to me, and suddenly, it felt like a snowball of painful memories was rolling down a hill, getting bigger and bigger and ready to crash into my shack of composure. Ford... knew about what had happened last summer. We... I never-not once had I brought it up again to him. Sure, I had spoken to Mrs. Bolivar about it, but only Ford knew ****who**** did it. What his personality was like, and how manipulative he could be.

"That's great!" Dipper shouted, oblivious to my discomfort. "I've been doing so much research and taking my own notes on what happened last summer, and possible supernatural experiences around Piedmont."

"He's been planning this for weeks." Mabel elbowed him in the side, as he smiled sheepishly at her. "Dipper keeps hoping you're going to show him new mystery stuff."

Ford opened his mouth to respond, only for Stan to hold up a hand. "Yeah, we're all really excited about what's in the forest. How's about we all go inside and continue whatever party Soos has going on in there." His twin gave a small glare, but relented to the idea.

"Fine, but give me a few minutes with Ela-" __Nope!__ I was by no means ready for this conversation. I had not expected him to appear out of the blue like this, and I wanted to be ready for it. This? This wasn't allowing me to prepare for anything!

"Yeah, let's go inside," I interrupted before he could finish. "I really wanna know what you two had been up to since we last seen each other." Before he could stop me, I sprinted back into the house, and caught the faint hurt expression flash on his face as the other three had looks of confusion. __I'm just... not ready yet.__

(Time Skip)

3rd POV

The elevator still worked, which was no surprise to him. What were the chances of it breaking down while he was away? Very minimal, actually. The odds were small, and he had no concern about the off-chance something went wrong. And of course, sneaking down there was no trouble as well. The entire household was used to his disappearances throughout the rest of the summer last year, so there no problem doing it now. But he had no time to think about all of that. No, no. He had more important stuff to deal with.

That wasn't to say he wasn't bothered by Elaine's sudden ditch into the Shack, before he even had a chance to finish his sentence. It discomposed him, more than he would admit. He knew that getting her to open up upon her arrival was going to be difficult, but he knew she had to say something at some point. Throughout the rest of the day, leading right up to when she vanished into her shared bedroom, she never once looked him in the eye. Sure, she did glance his way when he told of the tale involving the giant squid, but that was as much as he got out of her. Dipper even told him, before going upstairs to bed that while Elaine's usual cheerful self was returning, she still had night terrors. Screaming, as if her life was being ripped away from her or the lives of her friends and family.

Ford wished he could've done more.

But he didn't. He never said anything during their chats through the communication device he gave her, because he didn't want to make her healing process more painful. If he was the one to trigger anything, and he wasn't there to help... it was for her own safety.

He sat down at the desk in his lab, and pulled out the book. The cover was a very nostalgic maroon, with a golden hand on the front and a number four painted on top. Flipping to one of the most recent pages, he stared down at the intricate image of an aerial view of the town itself, with multiple small crisscross markings scattered about. And right in the center of the image, drawn with quick and sharp lines, was an X, tearing through the sky itself. "Let's get to work."

* * *

 ** **I did it! Finally, GFA is officially done its editing process! And... please, if you see mistakes, let me know? I really don't want to go through the pain of 75 chapters of edits again.****

 ** **In other words, because we're approaching the end of the term, I have a crazy amount of school stuff. No hiatuses, because we are way too new at the sequel, but I might not be exactly... consistent in uploading. I'll try my best, but things are getting a little crazy.****

 ** **And now that we have finally set up the introduction, we can get into more interesting things! Sorry if this chapter was a little lackluster, but it was needed.****

 ** **Until next time!****

 ** **Angel****


	4. Break Out the Tapes

**Disclaimer: I hoped you guys liked the last chapter. Sorry if this one isn't exciting yet. Haven't had much time to write lately.**

 **RainbowCelin: Thanks!**

 **Victoria1676: Because reasons! Bask in suspense!**

 **Lunar Moon Butterfly: I didn't think you were ignoring me. I guessed that not many people would read this chapter, given that I posted it around a busy time of year.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

Elaine's POV

"Um... Elaine?"

"Urgh... Dipper, it's too early for questions." I blearily looked up at his face, eyes squinted without my glasses. "What is it?" The younger teen was already in his clothes for the day, complete with hat, and was already writing away in the journal I had given him for his birthday.

"It's ten in the morning, actually. We figured you could use the extra sleep due to the bus ride." I appreciated his avoidance of the words 'night terror', but a little earlier of an alarm would have been nice. "And, well... you remember that monster that Ford had in the basement? The one you kept under control?"

"The cycloptopus? Yeah. Why do you ask?" I reached down to my shoes, and snatched up my glasses sitting beside them. Pushing them back onto my face, and I peered through the partially dirty frames at his... nervous face? "Dipper?" He glanced upwards, and I quickly followed his direction. _Oh... huh. What do you know?_ A single yellow eye stared down at us, and the tentacles were wrapped around one of the beams of the ceiling. I could hear quiet breathing, seeing the narrow pupil zoom in on me. "Huh... with Weirdmageddon, I guess it got loose. Surprised to see it again." _And not feasting on human flesh,_ was remained unsaid between us.

"Then how did it get back inside?" I shrugged, and crawled out of my warm blanket bundle. I stood directly underneath the spot the creature hung, and held out my arms. _I hope that sixth sense, aura thing is still there._ The green mass of monster octopus fell from overhead, and landed into my arms. The arms quickly began to travel up to my shoulder, and settled down once he was certain he wasn't going to fall off.

"Missed you too, you little... thing." _I really need to give_ _it_ _a name._ "Not sure exactly, to your question. We might want to ask Ford, or better yet, Soos. He probably has a good answer." I took a moment to look around the room, finally seeing that our other member of our trio wasn't around. "Where did Mabel go?"

"She ran off into the parlor. I'm not exactly sure why though. She seemed pretty excited though." Dipper tucked the journal into his vest, and got up off the bed. "I'll go down and check in on her. Want me to get a bowl of cereal for you when you come down?"

"Toast, if you could. Strawberry jam if we have it." He hurried on out of the room, leaving me and my intruder be. "Okay. I refuse to keep calling you by your species." I ran a finger over the top of its head, earning a small purr. "Hmm... ha ha. I got it. Mister Squiggles. You shall be my Mister Squiggles." The goofy nickname earned a giggle from me, and I gently pried the monster off of my shoulder. "Now, you rest here, while I get changed." It nestled into the bedding as I placed it down, and buried its face underneath two of the green tentacles.

Throwing open one of the drawers, I brought out a fresh change of clothes and threw them on before dashing to the bathroom to get ready. Brushing my hair into a high ponytail after brushing my teeth, I took a small pause to stare at my reflection. What I saw... was something that had stuck with me ever since the end of the summer.

My skin was still pale, and my red sleeves covered my scars. The old ones, and the new ones, were all hidden from my eyes. But what was visible were my eyes. Hazel eyes, that at first glimpse looked as happy and as cheerful as they normally did, but there... deep down... was an overwhelming sense of anguish and pain.

I did not wear as much of a mask as I did last year. All of my secrets, but one, had been shared. The one still kept to me, that was one only my therapist knew. _And... Ford, somewhat._ He knew. How much, I didn't know. _He... he was obviously going to talk about it with me yesterday._ He would corner me at some point. He'd get an answer eventually, and... "I'm not ready." I sighed, tightening the elastic before retreating back to the room. Tossing the brush at the foot of the bed, I grabbed my bag and held out an arm. "Let's go, Squiggles. And please, don't eat my hand."

At my response, Mister Squiggles woke from his short nap. Without the triangle's lasting energy around me, I wasn't sure if the small monster would be as comfortable around me as it was last summer. Thankfully, it appeared that I had nothing to worry about, as the creature returned to its resting spot on my shoulder. The contents of my bag remained the same as last year, with medical supplies, a notebook, and my journal. _Everything I need in case I go running off in the woods again._ "Good morning, Gravity Falls!" I stretched out the first word, springing off the steps, and sliding into the kitchen. Stan, Soos, and Dipper were the only ones present, which was a relief. "Soos, care to explain why this little guy's still around?"

Stan blinked at the creature accompanying me, and followed my gaze to the younger man. "Oh yeah. Little dude came back after you dudes left. It was all tuckered out from the apocalypse, and decided to remain here after Melody fixed the few injuries it had. As long as we feed him raw meat, we're fine." On that note, Soos got up out of his chair and moved to the fridge. I watched as he retrieved a strip of raw bacon, and tossed it in my direction. The monster jumped off my shoulder with enough momentum to push me back a step, and snapped its mouth around it. As it tore into the food, Soos returned to his seat. "Oh yeah, and Wendy is starting up her job again tomorrow."

"Nice. Hey, Dipper? Wanna go check on your sister?" He shrugged, and got up to join me. "Enjoy your little friend, Stan." I heard his grumbles as we left the room, clearly not pleased with the strange 'pet' now roaming the Shack. "So, I guess we're all living in the Mystery Shack together. Us, Stan, Ford, Soos, and Melody."

"Two more people shouldn't be that big of a problem. Five people was a struggle, but we handled it." Approaching the room where his twin was hiding, we found the girl sitting in the middle of the room with a plastic chair and cardboard box with a projector on it. A small remote sat beside it, and she was busy putting holes in an old white sheet. "What are you doing?"

"Oh! Guys!" Moving into the room, we stared at the odd mess around her. "I'm making videos!" _Videos? Oh!_ Now I see it, sort of.

"The show back in my dimension, between seasons, had you and Dipper making these guides to life and the unexplained. Guessing that's why you also have a camera out." The same device from when she was taping Stan's humiliation song was on her left, right next to a spool of twine.

"Yep. I'm thinking of starting about color, and make a list of future episodes. Something simple to start off the summer with, you know?" Oh, I knew. In the rush of their arrival last year, we were thrown into the world of gnomes. Her idea had merit. Silly, childish fun, before anything serious happened. "You can use the camera too, Dipper."

"Really?" He pondered over the idea, and smiled. "There's actually a few creatures I wouldn't mind looking into. How long will you need the camera for?"

"I need to call the girls in for help, but I should be done by the afternoon. You and Elaine can have it back then." We nodded at the idea, and just as I went to turn to leave the room, I heard a knock on the house's door. "Who's that?"

"I don't know. Let's see if Stan will answer." Mabel got off the floor, and we stood by the door. Really, who could it be? It wasn't early, no, but I didn't think our friends would be other so soon. She looked up at me, and held up three fingers. "Three. Two. O-"

"Gideon!"

"And there it is," Dipper sighed. Mabel lowered her hand, having counted off the numbers from her fingers. "You think he's here looking for you?"

"I wouldn't doubt it," I added. "So, um... how's about we put that color video of yours on hold, and we all go out monster hunting before he finds us?"

"I like that plan," Mabel quickly responded, snatching the camera and holding it to her chest. "Out the gift shop?"

"Out the gift shop." Without another word, we darted as quietly as we could down the halls. We could hear the white haired boy's voice from the living room, and making sure we were as silent as we could be, dashed past the door and into the desired room. _Hurry, hurry, hurry!_ I caught a glimpse of a confused Melody exiting her bedroom, but before she could ask why we were in such a rush, we had already made it outside.

"Let's get a fair distance into the woods first, and then we'll figure out what to do next." His pace slowly went down, and after a few minutes to make sure our old enemy wasn't following us, we came to a stop in a small clearing. _Wait... I know this spot. It's the same place I found out the truth about Asger._ He sat down on the log, and Mabel and I stood in front of him. It was the same place, alright. Same shrubs that Kat and I hid in, same log where he dived into his dark secret. "Okay, guys. Hide Behind. What do we know of it?"

"If memory serves me correctly, and it usually does, Ford and Fiddleford got scared out of their camping spot when they heard its howl," I recalled from the journal's pages. "Its body can bend to any shape, allowing it to hide easily without us being able to see it. Unfortunately, what good does any of that help us?"

I didn't want to admit it, but while nothing abnormal had happened yet... my anxiety was already starting to bother me. I was stressed, for obvious reasons. It was not that I wasn't used to exploring the forest. True, it was dangerous, but I had my alternate spot out there when I wanted to think. The view off of the hill that overlooked the lake below, with memories of sunshine bouncing off the crystal clear surface. It was not the gnomes that had me on edge, or any other monster. The thing that was making my heart beat loudly in my chest... was the statue.

Bill's statue.

It was nearby, but to the life of me, I could not recall where. I think back then, it was more of chance I stumbled across it. When I stepped away from the fire, I did it to clear my head. To think over stuff. Instead, after taking a familiar trail of mine, I came across the demon's petrified form a couple minutes off the beaten path. Of course, I was more than happy to be out there again, surrounded by nature. There was a ton more of it in Gravity Falls than around our house in Piedmont. But I just... what would I do, how would I react, when I found what remained of his physical form?

"Hey, Elaine? Are you okay?" I snapped out of my thoughts, turning back to Dipper. In my daze, Mabel had taken a seat beside him, and both were looking at me in concern. "You got really still for a moment."

Now, I still didn't like people pitying me. But after what happened last summer, that problem had shrunken a fair bit. With the state I returned to them as, it made sense that pity was a thing I'd receive. I had gotten better at being on the receiving end, but... still. B _athing suits are really out the window._ Too many scars now, that I did not want anyone to see, and the... scar on my neck was one I really did not want the twins to see. Back to the pity; it was more of a tick now, if anything. "I'm... fine. Just thinking, that's all. What were you saying, Dipper?"

He was disappointed I wasn't going to diverge into my thoughts, but answered anyway. "You said earlier about doing a guide video, right? That might be a little hard, since a lot of research would have to go into that. Maybe we could just take the camera with us on minor monster hunts, and see if we get lucky."

"I like it." _Speaking of video tapes... I wonder if the Stan Wrong Song is still on that._ If so, then I had to get Mabel to show it to Ford. _The author would love seeing his brother doing that._ And, of course, I would love to see the amazing video of the countless takes and Stan losing his mind over it and ending in tears. "So... how, pray tell, are we going to find this Hide Behind anyway?"

3rd POV

Gideon had not changed that much since the last time Stan had seen him. The volume in his white hair had remained the same, ever so carefully styled. However, gone was the blue suit he always wore. Instead, the now eleven year old boy wore an oversized blue t-shirt and olive green cargo pants with black and white sneakers. "Hello, Stanf... ley," Gideon corrected himself. "Is your nephew and niece back for the summer yet?"

"Yes, but you just missed them." He saw them sneak out, and he didn't blame them. "Now scram, alright? Don't care if we're not at each other's throats anymore, but that doesn't mean I want you hanging around here."

"Now, Mr. Pines, is that any way to treat an old pal?" He knitted his fingers together, and Stan could see from a mile away that the smile was anything but genuine. What was his game? "Y'all know I've been tryin' to better myself, havin' seen the error in my ways, but it regrettably has been going... south." He had been trying, really, but not one child seemed to want to enjoy his company. Every time he approached one during free time at the school, they would make up an excuse or start off in the other direction. Why was that? Ghost-Eyes was great company once you got to know him, so why did none of those other children want him around? He had the right clothes, his language was correct; why wasn't it working!?

"Soos told me you had your prison buddies beat up a kid for teasing you," Stan deadpanned. "Now get, okay? Unless you have anything else planned here, get off the property."

 _That's it?_ He wasn't going to give up that easily. There must have been a way to get something out of Stanley. He didn't make the trip all the way out to the Mystery Shack for nothing. "Grrr..." Gideon growled under his breath, before an idea came to him. _Well, this will surely get his attention._ "Well then. Why not you give me advice then, Stan Pines?" Stan stiffened, and his head swiveled to lock eyes on him. _Perfect._ "Or does the local hero have nothing to say, and figures he's not up to the task?"

"Why I ought to... give me one good reason why I should kick you outta this house right now!" Stan pushed himself to his feet, readjusting his hat. Gideon, still maintaining his composure now that the pieces were falling into place, moved to the door he had just entered from. With a smirk, he gestured outside, right where a large black truck was waiting with Ghost-Eyes inside. The freed convict turned to look at them, and cracked his knuckles. The sound of popping joints was heard even from where Stan stood.

"Well, Stanley?" Terrified eyes didn't meet Gideon, but he had the man's complete and undivided focus and was by no means letting it go. "Aren't you gonna help wittle ol' me?"

(Time Skip)

Elaine's POV

"I... give... up!" I returned to the clearing, and dropped onto the grass on my back. "We spent four hours searching, and nothing!" Mabel dropped into a seated position next to me, and wiped at the sweat on her forehead. "Where's your brother?"

"I think he'll be back in a few minutes. I lost track of him." She leaned backwards, and joined me in staring up at the afternoon sky. Shadows were cast over our faces as the warm beams of sunlight peaked through the branches, clouds lazily drifting in the direction of the faint breeze we were unable to feel in the maze of trees. "Ellie?"

"Hmm? Yeah, Mabel?"

"Did you... miss this?" Miss what? She had to be a bit more specific. "Being here in Gravity Falls, and doing stuff with us?"

"We did stuff back in Piedmont, Mabel. But I know what you mean, about being back here. The fresh air, the friends, the... questionable adventures we're no doubt going to be thrown into." I sighed, and nestled further into the tall grass. "While I'm glad the start of our summer hasn't been too nuts, I can't help but feel... nervous, about what happens when the next monster, or supernatural object gets thrown at us. And besides that, I just... I... M-Mabel, do you really think I can move past what happened last summer?"

Mabel remained silent, eyes closed tightly as she thought over my question. "... no, I don't think you can, Ellie. I mean, yeah, maybe you can step out of the night terror phase, but nobody expects you to move on. Maybe in the future, but not right now." Her smaller hand went to grab for mine, and I immediately gripped it as if my friend was about to vanish from my side. "You'll be fine, and I'll get that goofy smile back in no time."

"Heh... thanks, Mabel." As quick as our touching moment came, it ended just as swiftly with the sound of footsteps approaching us from behind. Sitting up, we turned to Dipper who dashed back into our meeting spot. "Any luck on your end?"

The camera was in his hands, appearing to be running, and his breathing was a little ragged. Powering it down, he grinned excitedly at my question. "I believe I had narrowed down its hiding location. I kept circling around a part of the forest, and I've pinpointed an odd sound that no doubt must belong to the Hide Behind."

"Odd sound?" I got to my feet, and picked up my bag which sat by the log. "That could literally be a number of things, Dipper. Still, hearing a specific noise from one spot is intriguing. Let's go check it out." _If I can recall... wasn't the creature an owl with a maraca?_ Well... it did exist, and Ford and Fiddleford encountered it, despite never actually seeing it. "Okay, Dipper. Let's go hunt down your monster and tape it. For science, and... stuff."

3rd POV

"USELESS! All of this stuff is useless!"

Stan rolled his eyes from his chair, watching the seething child pace in front of him steadily. This was predictable, really. As if he could give advice on childhood, when his own was far different. After all, at that kid's age, he was off getting into trouble that wasn't able to get him arrested. _That I can recall, I suppose._ "Yeah, yeah. You're not pleased. Now would you get out already? I gave advice, just like you wanted. Not my fault if none of it worked for you."

"You played me!" Gideon whirled around, pointing an accusing finger at him. A red, burnt finger. The previous owner of the Shack had told him to go steal a pie off a windowsill. It was still hot!

"Not really, but sure, if that's how you wanna look at it." He reclined his part of the couch, and reached over to the dinosaur table for the remote. The boy's face was red with anger, and his fists were clenched tight enough that his nails were close to piercing his skin. _Why's he so bothered by this anyway? It's not like this is any different than last... year..._ Soos had said Gideon made no attempts in bringing up his business again, and that a fair amount of the town was shunning him. Comparing that to the initial treatment he was used to, prior to being thrown into prison, he was having trouble adjusting. Sort of... like himself, when he was first starting out on his own in the world. _Ah, man. I'm gonna regret this._ "Oh boy. Listen, Gideon. No kid's gonna like you off the bat. Okay, you gotta accept that. Forcing yourself to get their attention is also a bad idea. Trust me when I say that." All of those failed commercials... suppose that was what he got for being cheap. Too much bad attention, instead of good. "When I was your age, it was just me and Ford. Two kids against the world. Try and focus on a select group, maybe a half dozen or so. Be yourself, and for my sake and everyone else, go back to wearing that baby blue suit of yours. You're not from the nineties."

The anger flickered for a moment, and Stan patted the seat beside him. He hesitated, but moved to sit next him. This... feeling, of disappointment, was not that much different than when he realized the truth about his actions to Mabel. "I j... I'm too different, Stanley, y'all know that. What kinda kid would wanna be pals with me?"

"Hmm. Well, different ain't all that bad. You seen my family? My brother was roaming the multiverse, and my niece and nephew are friends with a girl from a different dimension." No, he was not going to say the truth about her dimension. While some members of the town knew the truth, if they were close to the Pines, only a very select few knew the entire truth. Like... the few government guys Fiddleford had gotten hold of. "You'll find some friend who'll look past... that." He gestured to Gideon as a whole, a snarky but evidently caring manner.

"... thanks, Stanley." A small, genuine smile met the older Pines, slowly lighting up Gideon's face. "You know, you're not all bad for a grumpy old man." Stan chuckled at the slight jab, and clicked the television back on.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't easy for me either. Oh no, not this movie again." The Duchess Approves... well, at least he had the remote no-

"Can we keep it on this channel?" Gideon had inched forward, legs dangling off the couch and eyes glued to the screen. "I haven't seen this film in a while." _Best let Ghost-Eyes know I'll be stayin' a tad longer than expected._

Stan's brows flew up at the request, before shrugging. Hey, he suffered-sort of-through it before, but that was only because he couldn't find the remote. It wasn't all that bad... even though he tossed the set out the window. What was the harm of watching it again?

Elaine's POV

"Alright. After hours of searching, I've narrowed it down to his tree." Dipper lifted the camera up to point at his face, grinning. "Now, unlike the author and his assistant, I have devised a brilliant way to spot this creature." Mabel had somehow vanished once we got to the tiny new clearing, but I was more focused as to what Dipper was going on about. He didn't have time to go get supplies for a mirror suit, so what exactly did he have in store? "How about... several compact mirrors, scattered around the outline of the opening we're standing in to catch all possible angles?" I glanced around, catching sight of a faint glimpse of sunlight bouncing off a reflective surface.

"Clever, kid. Mabel hook you up?" He nodded, planting his hands on his hips and puffing his chest out.

"Yep. Nothing's going to sneak up on old Dipper-AAH!"

"BLIND SPOT!" Mabel jumped down from above us, tackling Dipper. The twin gave a startled cry, now pinned to the forest floor with his left arm uncomfortably bent under his back. All the while, I was hunched over laughing at the terrified look still on his face.

"I'm down! Dipper down!" Mabel continued to giggle, sliding off of him and pulling him to his feet. He shot her an annoyed glare, but was quick to scoop the camera back up when it fell from his arms. "Okay. This is it, guys. Get ready to finally see the Hide Behind!"

"Three... two... one..." I dashed around the tree, as the others went the opposite direction to catch it from all sides. Only... "yep, there's the maraca owl." The bird hooted cheerfully, shaking its instrument.

"Wow! Cool!" Mabel leaned in to get a closer look, while Dipper shut off the camera with a sigh.

"Elaine, how close were we, exactly?" I shrugged. Truthfully, it was hard to say. The end of the short did show the monster following him as he returned to the Mystery Shack, but there was a gap in between that moment, and this right there.

"Can't really tell you, sorry. Come on, Dippin' Dots. Grunkle Stan should have distracted Gideon long enough for us to return. Plus... I just realized we missed lunch and I am super hungry right now." My stomach chose that moment to agree with me, and the disappointed look flickered to amusement. I took the camera from him, and turned it back on. "Hide Behind still unseen, but we know it's still out there. Though, it does raise a question as to if we were close or-?"

A rattling sound broke through the air, but the owl we stood next to wasn't making any movements. _Oh... crud._ Turning off the camera, I slid it back into my bag before taking their hands. "So... time to go home?"

"Yes, Mabel. Now is definitely a nice time to go home-whatever you do, do not turn around. Keep walking backwards until we get far enough away. We can get the mirrors some other time." The first part was more of a startled shout, but the rest was in a rushed harsh whisper in fear of the creature listening in. I was really glad I took the time to really memorize the journal. I had to, if I wanted to write what I learned in my own book. The kids nodded nervously in understanding, and were quick to follow my instructions. It only took several minutes before we found one of the main trails, and the instant we knew it, we sprinted back to the house. "I was not expecting that!"

"You think it knew we were trying to find it?" Dipper asked.

"Probably!" I threw myself out of the treeline, and threw a nervous look behind me. No noise, no feeling of eyes on my back. Th-there wasn't any feeling of eyes in the first place, and it was more than likely my mind making me believe that. "I think we're good."

"It looks like it. I'll look over the recording later when I get the chance." He grinned, despite the sweat on his brow from the sudden shock of being followed. "This was actually pretty fun. Maybe we could look into other stuff."

"Well, there was the head monster in the lake, if I recall. And there's these geode monsters that Ford also encountered with Fiddleford. I wouldn't mind seeing those. Especially since the threat is far less." Dipper muttered the ideas under his breath, making a mental note to try and get those looked into in the future. I was more than happy to assist. True, the lake head was... probably not a safe one, but I didn't doubt for a minute I'd be going along. I swore last summer I'd protect them, and not let them get hurt. I... and now, I had to remind myself to do the same for me. No more secrets with omnipotent creatures, or hiding secrets that would destroy friendships. _That one truth though... that remains mine, and mine alone._ "That black truck... wasn't it here when we first left in the morning?"

"... he's still here." The three words left Mabel, and we didn't bother waiting as we ran into the building even faster than when we outran the Hide Behind. Melody gave us a look as we dashed through the gift shop, and as we threw open the door-what? "Huh?"

"It's still my life in a way!" Stan sobbed into his hands, the room's lights turned off and bathed in the blue glow of the TV set. Ghost-Eyes and Gideon sat on the couch, with the boy in the middle. Gideon's eyes flickered to us, holding a bowl of popcorn in his lap as his prison friend stuffed a handful into his mouth, not looking away from the screen.

"Is that... The Duchess Approves?" Dipper whispered to his sister, who only nodded mutely in response. Gideon handed the bowl to Ghost-Eyes, and ducked under Stan's line of view to move over to us. "Gideon."

"Dipper." He focused on Mabel, and I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Elaine." _Wow, isn't that introduction full of tension._

"What are you doing here, Gideon?" Mabel asked, sounding more confused and curious than angry.

"I'm..." Gideon quickly turned away from us, staring at Stan for a moment in his weird sobbing state before returning to us. _Is that... a genuine smile?_ The only time I ever saw that was when he was admitting his mission to be a good person before we left the town. "I'm hangin' out with a friend." _Stan's his friend? Okay, did I hit my head or enter some weird parallel dimension?_

Weird as it was... the kid did look happy. Accent still there, but... I couldn't detect any craziness there. Maybe the small amount that made Gideon him, but at the moment, all I saw was a white haired eleven year old, enjoying a movie with company. "Heh..." I stepped forward, and rested a hand on his shoulder. It was unexpected, for all three of them, as they all knew how vicious I was when he tried to kidnap Mabel in the robot. But... "good on you, kid. That's... really good of you." _But w_ _hy can't... everyone change so easily?_

* * *

 **I hope this chapter will be enough until I get time to write again. I've just been under a lot of stress recently. If it took me this long to write this chapter, it may be a while for the next one too. Really, I promise things will get quicker next month.**

 **And yeah, I figured Gideon wouldn't have had much luck redeeming himself since we last seen him. Stan, I figured, would've been a good choice in helping guide him on the right path... even if his methods are questionable.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	5. Comix Up

****Disclaimer: Here we go. This is the first taste of actual canon in the sequel. Be warned of spoilers, people who have not yet read the graphic novel.****

 ** **PoisonCupcake101: Well... probably since one of them is now suffering through PTSD, having night terrors, and is struggling to adjust to being in the town again where it all happened.****

 ** **Calamity Heart and Bill Cipher: Thanks! I figured it acted as a nice subplot to the twins and Elaine, and I really could see Gideon and Stan being friends.****

 ** **Luckygurrl12: It's fine. School's been pretty wild, and as you can tell, I haven't had much time to devote to this story. I'll occasionally throw in one of the shorts from the series, but most of what you'll be seeing is from my confusing and sometimes scary imagination.****

 ** **Lunar Moon Butterfly: You spelled it right.****

 ** **One more thing. For anyone who does not have the graphic novel, the next part is going to get really confusing. The styles of the different portrayals of the gang will change, there will be fourth-wall breaking due to comic panels, and so on. I'll try my best, but at some points, it's going to get hard to explain.****

 ** **Frankly, this entire adventure was just a confusing mess.****

"Speaking"

 _ _Thinking__

" ** **Reading**** "

* * *

Elaine's POV

"You know what, Mister Squiggles? I can't believe I'm gonna say this... but I'm bored in Gravity Falls."

The monster grumbled in its sleep on my stomach, as I continued to pet it while staring up at the ceiling. It was not like it was going to complain about my problems, or tell anyone else. It seemed to get along with Soos, but I was definitely the only human it really enjoyed being around. "I'm not entirely sure what the others are up to, the shop's not open for a few more hours, so... boredom." __This is what I get for waking up early and getting breakfast. By the time I returned to get changed, everyone's already about doing their thing.__ I was not happy with the unexpected monster chase, but even though it put me on edge, I did miss the rush it gave me. The adrenaline, and feeling of danger. It wasn't like life-or-death, but... it was fun. __Why though, was it fun?__ "Hmmm... I guess... it just made me feel involved in their lives. It made me feel smarter, and important." I paused in my petting, and shrugged into my comforter. "Well, I suppose the next disaster will approach any day now. What do you say?"

Squiggles growled, and rolled over. "I completely agree." I slowly slid my hands under the cycloptopus, picked it up, and sat it down on the mattress. Sitting upright, I grabbed my bag and began to head out of the room. "Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something-wait." I looked down at my socks, and rolling my toes while doing so. "Sneakers."

I crept down the stairs, looking around. "Huh... where is every-?"

"Elaine! Get in here!" __And there's Mabel.__ I backtracked down the hallway, and poked my head into the living room. Mabel and Ford were sitting at the table, surrounded by paints and brushes. "Wanna do arts and crafts with us?"

"... is this part of that recording thing we talked about, or...?" I could not imagine Ford willingly doing this with her, despite possibly wanting to get closer to the girl after hanging around Dipper last summer.

"No. I just wanted to paint, that's all. Look at what I did to Grunkle Ford's hand!" Ford rolled his eyes at Mabel's enthusiasm, and lifted his hand to show what she had done. His thumb was painted yellow with an eye at the end, while his five fingers were different shades or brown, red, and orange. A thin tipped brush created a small win on his palm, and Ford wiggled his fingers to make the feathers move. "What do you think?"

"Hehe. Good job, Mabel." I knew Ford was putting his attention on me now, rather than Mabel, and gave an awkward cough. "Ahem. So, uh, where's everyone else?"

"Melody and Soos went into town, Wendy will be over in a bit, I'm not sure where Grunkle Stan is, and Dipper's off doing nerd stuff with his journal," she recited. "What are you gonna do?" I opened my mouth to respond, only for the turkey-hand to stick out in front of me, cutting me off.

"I would like to speak to Elaine for a moment, Mabel, if you don't mind." __Oh, dang.__ It was bound to happen, no matter how much I tried to avoid it. Ford was after me the moment we both returned to the town, him wanting to discuss how I had been handling last summer. __Just avoid it as usual, Elaine.__ "This way." Ford left his jacket behind on the chair, no doubt because the paint was still wet and he didn't want to stain it. With a sigh, and a reassuring grin from the young girl, I followed after him to the kitchen.

"So, um... what do you want to talk about, Ford?" I walked over to the dining table, and rested my hands on the backrest. Fingernails dug into the material, eyes not leaving him as he observed me. To him, I probably looked ready to bolt. My fight-or-flight had gotten more under control, but that didn't mean I was perfectly fine. I liked Ford, and I would never do anything to hurt him... but doing something without my mind being aware of it was another matter.

"I just wanted to discuss how you were readjusting to the town, that's all." He took a chair across from me, sitting down. I still did not move from my spot, but he seemed accepted that. "Dipper informed me you three had a run-in with the Hide Behind yesterday."

"We sort of did. Never did catch its face, but I don't think I really want to either." __Please, get to the point, Ford. Please.__

"Good, good." A pause, which for me only made the moment feel even worse. "You know, Elaine, if there's anything on your mind, you are more than welcome to talk to me." I bit the inside of my mouth, darting my eyes to look away from him. I knew. I knew, and he knew, and I was getting tired of this avoidance.

"I know, Ford. I'll... keep that in mind. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go for a walk. I... I need to clear my mind." I pushed the chair further into the table, and began to stiffly make my way back towards the exit. The sound of his chair screeching against the floor had me speed up, and I just reached the door as Ford came out of the room.

"Elaine." I threw a look over my shoulder, frowned, and vanished into the outside. My shoes carried me off the deck, and I hurried along the trail before he could follow. He could follow, if he wanted to, but we both knew he wasn't about to do that. __He corned me last year when I was keeping the details of my deal a secret. That will probably happen again at some point.__

"I really am sorry, Ford. I just need time to figure out what to say to you." I stuffed my hands into my pants' pockets, and continued to trek through the forest, my only reply a whisper among the birds chirping overhead.

(Time Skip)

Something felt... odd, as I returned to the Mystery Shack. Time wasn't known to me, but I estimated I was gone for about an hour. That shouldn't have been too long for anything bad to happen... if one wasn't a part of the Pines family. "Melody?" I stepped into the quiet gift shop, seeing that no one was inside but her. "Where is everyone?"

Melody looked up from the cash register, putting in a fresh roll of nickles into the tray. "I think everyone headed to the basement. Your uncle said, despite knowing about it through Soos, I wasn't 'ready for it yet'." __Okay then?__ I glanced at the vending machine, and quickly input the code. "Should I be worried?"

"Possibly. I'll be back in a bit." The descent was just as tense as the first few times I went down there. Sometimes it was easy, sometimes it was a mess of emotions. __What awaits me this time?__ The buzzer went off as I got to the bottom floor, and opened to reveal Wendy, Soos, the twins, and Ford all standing around a comic book. "Okay, what happened?"

Everyone turned to look at me, and I moved over to stand by Wendy. "Stan annoyed something supernatural and we have to save him," she replied with a grin. "We're goin' inside a graphic novel."

"So... is it a comic or a graphic novel?" __I honestly can't tell.__ Ford took the book fro Mabel, and began to flip through its pages thoroughly. All I got as a response was a mutter that wasn't distinguishable, just as came to a stop a few pages into the opening of the book.

"Alright, everyone. Things are about to get two-dimensional. Say goodbye to your width!" He opened the pages to reveal a bright white-pink light, and a loud humming began to fill the room. __Wait, so we're actually going inside the book?__ I-was there any time to think about this, or were we really just going to dive right in there?

"It's been an honor to serve you." I sidestepped closer to Wendy at Soos' odd comment, as he hugged his stomach. Ford laid the open book on the ground, and looked around at us. __So no backing out, apparently.__

"Last one there has to kiss Marmaduke!" Mabel cheered, as Ford took the lead in leaping over the book, having the portal suck him into the paper. Soos followed right behind him, then Dipper, Wendy, and Mabel. The girl decided to crawl and slide through the pages, and threw a look of excitement back at me. "Aren't you coming, Ellie?"

I could make out the sound of Dipper's screaming, as the paper ruffled with its newest content, and sighed with a nod. "I said I wanted a little excitement after the Hide Behind... this wasn't what I had in mind." Taking her hand, I was pulled into the book, and immediately joined in the sensation of free-falling. Soaring past a yellow text box, I barely could make out what it spelled out before the ground rushed to meet us; way too quickly, for my liking.

"Oof!" I landed on a mess of green and orange, and rolled off of Wendy's back. "Well, what was most certainly not my most graceful land... ing." __Why does my appearance and everything remind me of Harvey Comics?__ Everything had soft edges, and had a bit of a childish look to it. "I feel slightly unsettled right now."

"Is this like how you first arrived in our dimension?" Wendy asked, pulling herself to her feet. "You mentioned to the others about us being a cartoon, right?"

"You have no idea how relieved I was everything looked normal. This isn't really helping me process." I flexed my fingers, thankfully still maintaining the proper amount of digits.

"We're in. Now start looking for Stanley and don't touch anything!" I hurried ahead to walk near Ford, as the others continued to walk and discuss the strange physical properties of the world we ended up in. I looked above Ford's head, seeing a speech bubble containing exactly what he just said, before returning to study his expression. Even in this creepy and cheerful looking place, the seriousness of the matter still hung in the air.

"So, because we're in a comic, doesn't mean the style of it could change?" I prodded the bubble that appeared above me, the texture feeling like a balloon. __How weird.__ He nodded, looking around at the cartoon version of our forest.

"Yes, and unfortunately, these can happen at any mome-"

A sudden flash blinded me for a moment, and it felt like the entire world had shifted. The landscape, the style, and myself. As I blinked away the spots, I found myself in a world akin to a collection of comics my parents used to own. "Moment," I finished for him. "This is going to happen often, isn't it?" __What was the name again?__

"We seem to be in Shmad Shmagazine!" Soos remarked behind me. "Watch your step or you might get spoofed!" Ah, that was the name. __Mad comics.__ I never read them, but I did enjoy watching the odd jumble of cartoons that sometimes aired. Our appearances had also quite changed, exaggerating certain parts of them. Dipper had a propeller on his hat, Mabel's braces and teeth were more pronounced, Soos had a very pear-shaped body, Wendy's eyes were hidden under her hair with an arrow stuck through the pine tree hat on her head, and Ford looked... very unstable.

"It's just a style fluctuation!" He called as he continued onward, pointing a giant hand in the air. __Those teeth are freaking me out.__ It's like something I'd see on one of the Henchmaniacs, they're so out of order. __Oh boy, what does mean for m-nope. I don't even wanna know.__ "Don't get distracted by the zaniness!" That would have been easy to do, until everyone dashed by me and suddenly ended up having to dodge random traps set everywhere, laid out by a purple cartoon that bore a resemblance to the Spy vs. Spy characters, except with a sunflower on his coat and swirly glasses over his eyes. __I just paused for a second. Where did he even come from?__ "Follow that creature to Stanley! And watch out for style changes!"

"No need to tell me twice." The gang had triggered the traps ahead of me, so there was no need for me to fret about stepping into anything life-threatening. Hurrying along, I wanted as the purple toon vanished around a corner of a building before another shift occurred. "Ah, now wh-huh?"

Manga. I changed into a manga girl. A simple sailor girl uniform, complete with short skirt. __Very... short skirt.__ I gripped the fabric, bringing it down to a level that was somewhat appropriate. "Sure. Everyone has the same size skirt, but why not give me one that fits my figure?" I sighed, smoothing it out once I was satisfied. Wendy's only went to her knees, but me, I had to be on the unfortunate side and be cursed with something that went around mid-thigh length. "I don't even like skirts. What's with that?"

"You're still rocking it better than Dipper is," Mabel grinned, jogging up to me. I raised a brow at the comment, and looked ahead. Sure enough, her twin was wearing the exact same outfit as the rest of us, kneeling on the ground and trying to shield himself from Wendy's smirk.

"Hehehe. Nice." Ford walked over in our direction, listening in on an observation Soos made as I turned to look at a window. __My eyes are so huge and sparkly!__

"Hmmm... yes, there seem to be dangerously high levels of romance in the air. Just keep searching for that purple fellow, and whatever you do, don't make eye contact!" I won't lie, when one doesn't focus on the fact he was also wearing a girl's uniform, a manga appearing Ford was pretty impressive. __Certainly does wonders on his jaw... wonder what a world like this would do to Stan?__

Mabel saluted him as he wandered past. "Don't you worry, Grunkle Ford! Eyes on the pri-! Kya!" I jumped at the sudden and very clear Japanese exclamation, and watched in confusion as a swirl of rose petals began to rain down from above. "Who is this beautiful stranger?"

Footsteps echoed around the corner of the school hallway, and I slapped a hand to my mouth in muffled laughter. "Mabel-san, it's me, senpai Gideon... help me collect the seven Crystal Sailor Angel Capture cards, and then we can finally kiss! Tee hee!"

Mabel shrieked, quickly shaking her head. "No! Never!" Gideon's face fell, and he dejectedly walked away. Mabel turned to look up at me, head bowed in shame. "I'm so sorry, Elaine! Everyone here looks so hot!"

"This world's messing with you in a really weird way, I get it. Don't worry, we should be out soon." It could've been worse, I suppose... we could be like Soos and be choking on all these rose petals. "Uh... what's up with your brother?" She brought her head up, and I discretely pointed at the kid. Dipper was staring at me, a dark grey over his cheeks. "... it's the skirt, isn't it?" Mabel jogged over to him, raised her hand, and I smothered a laugh at her "Maaabeeel chop!" She bopped him on the head with the narrow part of her hand, sending him to the floor from the strike. Once she was satisfied with the pained cry she received, she hurried back over to me. "Thank you."

"Look, it's that cartoon jerk!" Wendy pointed at an open locker, and sure enough, the creature from before was sprinting into it. "Quick! Follow him into that locker before our eyes get any bigger!" I grabbed Mabel's hand, and sprinted towards the exit with the others.

"No need to tell me twice!" The shift in reality happened the moment I stepped through the locker, leaving me in a graveyard. "This is... better, I suppose."

"It's like we're inside Dipper's brain!" Mabel remarked as we hurried over to the others on a small hill. Wendy held up her lantern, surveying the skulls and rotting corpses everywhere. The entire world was built with dark shades of purple, grey, and black. The occasional splash of bright orange was thrown in, standing out vibrantly against the darkness.

"Now we're talking! Soos, what is this place?" Mabel adjusted the goggles on her face, looking around through the orange glass.

"This is the Grimdark Chronicles! A comic where everyone you like dies. It's very popular!" Dipper adjusted the metal fist now attached to his left hand, the joints clinking softly in the eerie cool night.

"You there!" Ford looked over at a zombie, trying to climb its way out of a grave. "Have you seen a pointy man with a fedora and no respect for the laws of physics?" __I only know one person who fits that, but he wore a top hat.__

"I have seen the man you seek, caw!" Ford looked up, seeing a raven stare down at him with beady eyes. "He went in through those catacombs, caw!"

Mabel got out of my grip, and went to clap her hands. "Thanks, terrifying bird! I trust you completely!" I rolled my eyes, examining my clothing. No more skirts, than goodness. Everyone wore trench coats, cloaks, and Dipper maintained his vest. __Wish I knew this art style.__ _ _It's realistic, but it's not quite there.__

"Can we just hurry? This metal fist is chafing, guys!" Ford started off running towards the entrance to the catacombs below the hill, the entrance lit up with two torches.

"I think we're getting close-this could be it!" I skidded to a halt upon entry in the next world, running straight into Ford. "Wait a minute... halftone colors? This doesn't look right..."

"Superhero comics," I mumbled into his coat as I backed up, seeing we changed back into our normal outfits. "I'm a little more familiar with this one." Everything was sunny out, a lovely change from earlier, and I was glad to have all forms of color back again.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the girl who tried to white out our captions!" Six superhero characters stood in front of us, and I could make out the purple cartoon slyly looking at us from behind the lone female of the group.

"We worked hard on those quips! How dare you!" __Girl and white out... Mabel.__ Whatever they were talking about more than likely happened while I was taking my walk.

"Prepare to be indestructi-beaten!" The woman cracked her knuckles, and Soos grinned excitedly.

"Oh my gosh! The Indestructi-buddies! I just wanna say it's gonna be an honor to be killed by you."

Wendy rolled her eyes, and cracked her own knuckles. "Eh, I bet we could take these dorks."

"Ha! Indestructibro has no weaknesses!" The person who appeared to be the leader, a muscular man in an orange spandex suit with yellow gloves, boots, mask, and cape declared. Mabel frowned, and jumped up to snatch the speech bubble in the air. Twirling it around, she thrust the jagged end that was originally pointed towards him into his stomach. The man gasped in pain, hunching over. "Augh! My one weakness!"

"Hey, that's cheating! Get them!" The hurt hero slumped over the edge of the building we stood on, and the others prepared to attack. I nodded slowly, and placed my hands on the twins' shoulders. __Time to get go-Soos?__ The man had taken down a yellow speech board, flipped it over, and quickly wrote something down. Holding it up triggered another flash, and Soos grinned.

"Go get 'em, dudes!" I released the kids in surprise as he suddenly grew several feet. The board hung in the air as he let it go, and I finally could make out what he wrote. " ** **Suddenly, Soos and friends gang totally rad powers and kick everyone's butts****!"

"Super powers!?" Dipper exclaimed, and I grimaced at the change made to him. His forehead had greatly increased, revealing large throbbing veins-oh my gosh, was his head pulsing? __Ah, gross!__ Mabel spun around in a dress resembling one of her pink sweaters, with a black belt and a yellow diamond on the front and black leggings. Wendy was completely decked out in green plaid, with two large axes in her hands, and Ford had two large laser guns with the journal's symbol on the back of his coat and glasses that reminded me a little of Cyclops from X-Men.

 _ _Then what does that mean for me?__ I appeared to look normal, in terms of clothing, but something did seem... off. __Let's see... what sort of power could relate to me specifically?__ "Hmmm... ignis?" The word acted like a trigger, and a blast of fire shot out of my hands straight towards the hero who resembled The Thing from The Fantastic Four. He went flying backwards, striking against the roof's edge before toppling over. "Ha ha! Awesome!" Of course my powers would involve fire. Why not!?

My unexpected attack was the start of their attack, and everyone split off to fight the remaining heroes. Were they heroes if they were fighting innocent people? __Meh. They probably aren't sure who's side they're on.__ I sidestepped as one of Ford's shots came blazing past, making sure the person I struck stayed down, and watched Mabel punch the lone woman away from the building with a rainbow.

"Taste the pain-bow!" She shouted, wiping the multicolored liquid off on her clothes. Dipper used his telekinetic powers to rip apart the man's Iron Man ripoff suit, and just as Wendy chopped the spiked bat of the man in the suit suit. Soos took hold of the werewolf creature, and casually tossed him over his shoulder. Once we were certain nothing was about to attack, Ford finally rushed up to the purple character and grabbed him by the coat.

"There you are! Okay, wise guy. Now tell us where Stan is, and no more gags, yuks, or funny business!" The cartoon grinned, and pulled out a bomb from within his jacket. The fuse was already lit, and quickly winding down.

"Howzabout prop comedy!?" He cried, as Ford's angry look turned into annoyance and nervousness.

"Oh great." The boom ripped apart the world we were in, and I just caught sight of everyone turning back into their normal forms as we were sent flying across the book. My legs buckled on impact, and I tumbled head over heels before slamming to a halt. __Oh... my back was not supposed to bend that way.__ I rolled over, sitting up and observing my location.

"Now where am I?" Everything was white, and I was sitting at the bottom of a large display of black lines in comic sans font. "Table of contents, huh? Makes sense." Jumping, I hooked my hand around the lowest sentence, and pulled myself upwards. "Guess I have to wait." The entire world in the graphic novel made zero sense. I at least could understand the Nightmare Realm, but this? The laws in this place were worse than a place without any laws. "Dipper! Mabel! Anyone?"

I could hear voices off in the distance, but since my location was right at the beginning of the book, they would have to do a lot of backtracking to reach me. "Let's see... what can I do now?" __Don't I still have my bag with me?__ I looked around, checking to see if anyone else was around, and brought the bag off my shoulders and opened it up.

My journal. I had not written in this since right before I left the town, just as everyone was getting ready to send us off to Piedmont. In fact, since I was always having my pens hidden away, I all but stopped looking at it after a while. Online writing was, true to everyone's ideas, therapeutic. It was clean, tidy, and I could go back and edit my thoughts. My book though... how did I not notice its distressed appearance when I first packed it away?

Scratches on the angel's wings and golden corners, torn at the bottom corner on the opposite side of its binding, and... st-stained in my blood. "How could I...?" I flipped through the parchment, flashes of what I had learned, and what I had done soared past my eyes before landing on a specific page. The page I wrote just before Bill th-threw me out of the Fearamid. " ** **Can't sleep! Won't sleep****!" Aggressive doodles of the demon on the margins, scratched out with a red-stained nail. Blood splotches along the paper from my eye, as the bandage could only hold still for so long.

Everything was unstable, a mess. Lines crossed out every time I began writing about him-how much my state now changed to my current state, and how my current state compared to the rest of the summer. "... you screwed me over, even when you're no longer here," I frowned, letting the graphic two pages of my destroyed mind sink in before flipping again.

The next few pages were of the entry into Mabel's bubble, right before Dipper was about to be thrown out of the bubble and fall to his death, and of the world returning to normal. Where I awoke in the hospital, and right before boarding the bus with them. And after that... nothing. Half of the book was filled, and the rest was completely blank. __Time to get to work.__ I reached into my bag, brought out the pen that my therapist had gifted me, and with a few seconds of hesitation, let the ink flow onto the paper.

" ** **Hello, journal. It's been a while, hasn't it? Several months, actually.****

 ** **I suppose I should just continue on with where I was writing in my online book. I really don't wanna be playing catch-up. Anyways, I am back.****

 ** **Back in Gravity Falls, Oregon. In the Mystery Shack, with all of the friends I made last year. Combined with newcomer Melody, who is now employed due to being Soos' girlfriend and works the cash register with Wendy. The two are going to alternate, whenever one can't work and because Soos still wants her to have some job at the attraction.****

 ** **It would be great. Crazy adventures, weird laughs. But having a night terror on the way here sort of messes up the adjustment. This one? Being chased by Bill through the Fearamid in search of the twins, before being captured and having my face ripped off by his fanged maw.****

 ** **To go along with that, Ford really wants to talk to me about... the thing. I know he wants to discuss the abuse, and I would love to talk to him. But... I'm scared. Terrified. All because I have no idea how much he knows and doesn't know. What did Bill tell him, when trying to get the equation for the barrier from him?****

 ** **And do I want to know****?"

My pen hovered in place, letting a blot of black ink begin to form. Did I want to know? I... I didn't know. "What... do I want?"

"There you are!" My hand snapped back, and I looked down to see a large tear in the paper. Wendy led the way for the others sans Soos into the table of contents, looking up at me. "Forgot this place was just paper. Thing cuts through really easily."

Dipper stepped out around her, and his relieved expression dropped a little. "Elaine, are you okay?" I put the journal and pen into the bag, which hung on the hook of the lowercase G, without responding. Throwing it over my shoulders, I hopped down to meet them. __I... depends on their version of okay.__ "Elaine?"

"Just reflecting. Seeing that a certain someone is no longer stealing pens, I figured now was as good a time as ever to start writing." I eyeballed Mabel at the pen part, who grinned innocently back. "Any idea where Stan is?"

"I think I heard him on the way over, but we couldn't find the page," Mabel replied. She stepped back to view the lines of contents, before pointing at one at the very top. "There he is!"

Ford moved beside her, and nodded. "Page six, panel eighteen. Good eyes, Mabel." He turned to Wendy, who took the lead in hacking through the paper once again at the invisible command. Everyone followed after her, but Ford took a moment to watch me, still in one spot. Was I still collecting my thoughts? Obviously. I overthink a lot of things, some more than others. One of them being him. And him, unfortunately, knew very well what I was thinking about. "Elaine..."

"Let's go... get Grunkle Stan." My feet found themselves moving again, and I jumped through the first tear to catch up and walk beside the redhead and away from Ford. The man visibly deflated a little as for the second time that day, I had dodged his questions, but chose to let it be once again. The settings had barely any time to adjust to our swift movements, leaving us in white voids as we traveled. Wendy paused at a comic sans number six in the corner mid-hack, smirked, brought down her ax on the thin wall. On the other side, Stan and Soos were hugging each other in a pitch black abyss.

'Guys! You escaped!" Soos cheered, releasing Stan.

"Yeah, I remembered this place is just made out of paper. It's really easy to cut," Wendy replied. Dipper stepped over the rip, entering the darkness behind her.

"Plus we realized we need to pay another fourteen ninety-nine to buy the next issue of the story." I hopped in behind them, with Mabel and Ford after me.

"Fourteen ninety-nine? That's highway robbery!" Stan cried. "As a former highway robber, I would know!"

" ** **You can't escape that easy! I'll just keep introducing plot twists and villains until you're done for, and there's nothing you can do to stop me****!" The yellow text box sprung into existence in front of our feet, and Mabel and Dipper grinned at each other. __Am I missing something here?__

"This ends... white now!" Mabel pulled out a small plastic bottle from her sweater, and popped off the cap. Gripping it tightly in her hand, she sprayed the text with the liquid eraser and around the ground. An immediate bright flash swept over us with a loud crack, similar to that of a fire cracker, and I felt myself being ejected from the panel, the page, and the comic book until the wonderful world of reality met me.

By meeting me, it was more of the entire group being thrown into the air before coming down hard around the floor of the lab. Chests heaving for air, we pulled ourselves up to our feet. "The third dimension! How I missed you!" Dipper felt around his torso, smiling.

"Well, I think we've all learned a lesson today. Reading is bad. We should burn all books. And overthrow the government!" Ford paled at the remark from Wendy, and I chuckled at the randomness of the statement. __She's just saying that for kicks. Ford has nothing to fret over.__

"I'm just glad to be back to norm-AUUGH!" Dipper screamed, and Wendy and Soos joined him as they stared at Grunkle Stan.

"What is i-whoa!" The man had massive sparkly pink anime eyes, taking up most of the upper part of his face. "Change it back, change it back!" I was used to seeing weird stuff in this world... I really could've done with that. __Yeesh, that could rival the craziness of the Henchmaniacs.__ Pink and sparkly... Pyronica would've gotten a kick out of that.

Stan quickly shook his head, and we sighed as everything appeared to be back to normal. "Okay. We've all had an interesting start to the morning," Ford began, "so I will save the checkups for tomorrow. If Stanley had anime eyes despite not going through that style change, then who knows what happened to the rest of us."

Hand over my heart to steady myself, and still seeing spots in my vision, I threw a small but thankful smile at Ford, but just as he turned to face me, my relief was washed away with the stress still hanging over my head. __I'm still not through with this game of avoidance, by the looks of it,__ I thought as Mabel began to go off about the superpowers she wielded in battle against the superheros. _ _Not by a long shot.__ He would try again, and I would dance around the topic with excuses. I just couldn't keep doing that. It hurt, seeing that we were so close before, and now... now I had trouble being in the same space as him. __I... just need a way for things to reach a middle ground, like when we were purely focused on the mission. Something that won't make me clam up.__ But... what on earth could that be?

(Time Skip)

"Kid, what are you doing?" I looked up from my book, seeing Stan in the entryway of the attic room. The attic space was the same as it was before, with storage boxes scattered about and the window seat by the triangular glass window. No more Bill etchings, seeing that that specific window was destroyed. __No more windows into this dimension. It feels... weird.__ "Kid?"

"I was just writing about what happened today, Grunkle Stan. The fact we went through so many artistic styles is giving me a lot to draw." I turned the journal around, showing an image of me with fire-hands, Dipper in the schoolgirl's uniform, and Mabel in the Mad comic style. The elderly man chuckled as he looked them over, before reaching into his jacket.

"So Soos went ahead and opened the Shack up anyway, and with his persistence, got me to put my childhood comic book out for sale." __Stan drew comics?__ Maybe that was why he got dragged into that mess in the first place. __Did he upset some sort of supernatural force? Because I wouldn't put it past him.__ "Kids are enjoyin' them, especially with the swears I put in, and I figured that, well..." Stan pulled out his hand, and a monochrome book was held out in front of me. " ** **Li'l Stanley**** " was written on the front, with a cartoon kid version of what was probably Stan underneath.

"Are you giving me a copy?" I took it from him, feeling the smooth and cool paper under my fingers.

"That just ain't a printed copy. That's the original right there." I snapped my head back up to look at him. "I figured since you're so into cartoon drawings and all..." he gestured to my journal.

There was clearly more to it than that, but it was obvious he was having trouble figuring out the words. Frankly, I was fine with how he phrased it. Stan wasn't one to get overly emotional. Only when the situation called for it, would his rough exterior crack. This moment wasn't anywhere near that extreme, so his behavior made sense. "Stan, that's... thank you." His hand ruffled the top of my hair, sending loose strands over my glasses. "Pfft!"

"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome, kiddo. Now, when you're done readin' that, tell me what you think. The next edition is gonna be even better than that!" He let go of my head, and with a wave, headed back out the door.

I could've continued writing about my adventure, but... "well, I do like a good book." I rolled my legs up onto the seat, tucked underneath me and laid back against the wall with my side against the cool glass. I flipped to the first page, and with a smile, began to read.

* * *

 ** **This was an interesting chapter. I hope I pulled off the comic changes well. We have two more stories from the novel that we'll end up seeing, and I hope you'll enjoy those too. There's also a ton of references in here. From the comic styles themselves, to a random one I put in for giggles.****

 ** **And the next chapter... this is where the actual plot of the sequel is going to commence. GFA2 will not be as large as the first story. I am unable to think of enough stuff to pull that off-ranking in the seventies-but the amount of plot twists, monsters, and other paranormal stuff will surely make up for that.****

 ** **Until next time!****

 ** **Angel****


	6. A Walk in the Woods

**Disclaimer: It's time... to bring me your eggnog!**

 **Sp00kyT00ns: Sleep is always more important than writing and reading. Why do you think in two months, I only got a few chapters posted?**

 **Luckygurrl12: Finals, well... they could've been better. With Ford and Elaine, it's hard on both of them. She doesn't know what he knows about the assault. How much Bill told him when he was trying to get the code to the barrier. That's what is driving her to avoiding him.**

 **Amuru: That will come in time. You'll have to be patient in that answer.**

 **Lunar Moon Butterfly: It was a sweet ending, wasn't it?**

 **NBoss01: Well, after this, it truly begins!**

 **PorousBubbles: If you can, could you message me the errors you noticed, instead of posting them as a review? I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far!**

 **I don't own anything Gravity Falls, Elaine is my OC, and I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday!**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

Elaine's POV

"Well, it would appear that no aftereffects from the comic world carried over on you." I nodded as Ford put away the small flashlight that he used to check my eyes, and eased back into my seat. Of course he would check the eyes. After what happened with Grunkle Stan, it was one of the key places to look. _That, and if there were any remaining powers from the superhero world, or odd skin_ _colors like blue_ _or something_ _._ "How do you feel, Elaine?"

"A little tired, but other than that, I'm okay." Stan's comic book occupied my time for the rest of the afternoon. The illustrations were a little childish, but that must have come from being the twins' age when he drew it all up. It reminded me a little of the Peanuts comics, except with the occasional swear thrown in. _Overall, not bad. Maybe Stan would like some help with future issues._ After all, when it came to cartoon drawings, I was pretty good at them. My journal was evidence of that. _And maybe I can throw a kid Ford in there too._

"Excellent. Everyone else appears to be in good health. Only my brother's sparkling pink eyes carried over, from what I'd seen." I smiled at the memory and the slight humor in the statement. It was definitely disturbing, but thinking back on it, I got a little bit of laughter myself.

Ford brighten up at the smile as he put the light back onto the desk. _Right. Still avoiding him._ _Of course the smile makes him happy._ I did not exactly what to come to the checkup, but I had no way of making sure I was free of any... anomalies. I didn't run off, or offer any weak excuse. I came, and the checkup went without a hitch. _Unlike the last one,_ I thought, smile dropping for a second.

When the radiation machine starting smoking upon scanning me. There was much, much more pressure on my shoulders when that happened. Now, well... there was still a heavy weight burdening me. Not as drastic as before, no, but it still was a problem. "That's great, Ford. May I leave now? Dipper wanted to take me out on one of his trips in the woods?" That wasn't a desperate excuse like the last few times. Dipper had indeed wanted to go out searching for something. What it was, exactly, he had yet to tell me. However, anything beat being forced to spend another second in this tension.

"Oh." His brightened look, just like mine had, dropped a little. "Of course. You have your knife on you, no doubt." I reached into my flannel's pocket, and pulled out said weapon. It was well-used since I had gotten it from Stan, and it showed its usage. The blade, sharpened with care, was stained. Stained, with the bright green blood of the shape shifter and the black inky blood that inhabited Bill Cipher. The two fights it had been pulled, and had been used without mercy.

 _Is it blood from Bill? I mean, what exactly do I call that stuff?_ It wasn't important, so I shrugged off the strange and rather gross question. "Never go anywhere without it. Oh, w-well... you know, places that actually allow you to carry one." I got up from my seat at his desk, pocketing my knife. "See you at supper, Ford." Leaving the room was a little less painful as it was before, and I trekked through the house and into the gift shop. "Hey, guys. Dipper down here yet?"

Melody and Wendy were behind the counter, turning in my voice's direction. Since the events of last summer, the people of the town had a renewed interest in what we had in stock and display. Even if only one could use the register at once, both were quite busy. Wendy sent a tourist on his way, and I moved over to them. "Nah, but he should be here soon. What're you two doin'?"

"No idea," I replied to Wendy's casual question. "He seems pretty excited-oh, here he comes." The young teen sprinted out of the door I just came through, skidding to a stop in front of us. "Ready?"

Dipper grinned, adjusting the bag on his back that was close to bursting open. The top was barely keeping whatever was inside from spilling out. "Yeah, I got everything we're going to possibly need. Good thing too. I noticed you left your book bag back in the bedroom too."

"I don't need to carry it with me all the time. We'll back in a few hours." I waved goodbye to Wendy and Melody, as Dipper took the lead out the door and off the deck. The day was overcast, a sharp contrast to the warmth of the summer sun from when we went searching for the Hide Behind. I gripped my flannel closer to my body, the wind drifting right through the fabric as we began the trek through the woods. "This... isn't a good sign."

"The last time we were out in the woods, this early in the summer, you found Ford's journal." I couldn't see the sun, despite the branches shielding us from directly looking to the sky. "Please, Dipper, tell me that you don't have anything crazy in store for today."

"It's fine, Elaine. I got everything figured out, and according to Wendy, they should be pretty easy to approach." I cocked my head to the side at that. Wendy had seen... whatever this was?

"And what is 'they', pray tell?" Dipper stopped in the middle of the trail, letting me join him at his side.

"Remember the Dipper clones that got away during the party? Wendy has seen them sometimes around the town. After almost a year, they're somehow still alive." _Wow. That's impressive._ The clones were susceptible to liquids, and the fact they were still kicking was actually shocking. _I thought they'd kick the bucket after the rain storm the next day. How'd they pull that off?_ "Since they always vanish into the forest, I decided to go out searching for them. If they've been having any trouble surviving, and if I can help them at all."

"Cool. I can get behind that idea." It had been a long time since the twin had fought against his clones, which had me stuck in the middle on whether or not they would still hold grudges against him. After all, they were all fighting for Wendy's attention. _But Dipper doesn't like her anymore. Maybe. Just not as much as he likes me._ "How are we going to find them? We can be out here for days if we don't have a location in mind."

"She said it was out towards Greasy's Diner where she kept spotting them." He took a path to the right, and I realized it was the same route Asger had led me through when I had to return to the restaurant to meet up with the Pines. _This weather is starting to get to me. Let's see now... how about this?_

"Moonstones and oaken roots, and a multi-bear's tooth. Serpent's tongue, and goblin's claw, and phoenix feathers too. Throw them in a pot, and you get a monster's brew." Dipper sputtered in a laugh at the strange chant, watching me skip over the dips in the trail with each beat.

"Really?" I playfully punched him in the arm, giggling as he went to grab his limb.

"Hey, I'm bored and need a way to get this creepy vibe to stop. It was the only silly thing I could think of. I'm just surprised I got an actual rhythm to it. Now then, should be somewhere around here, right?" I scanned the woods for a moment, skipping returning to a normal walking pace. "Shouldn't be too hard to f-aah!"

The ground flew upwards under our feet, enclosing around us and hoisting us into the air. I tumbled against Dipper's side, my legs pressed against my chest as I stared at the net that had ensnared us. Dipper pushed his hat back up, it having fallen in front of his eyes in the commotion. "What is this?"

"We got you now!" The shrubs in front of us shuffled with movement, and the objects of our search jumped out onto the path. Two paler versions of Dipper-one with a three on his hat, the other with a four. Both had capes made of yellow rain ponchos, showing their typical outfit underneath. The third clone had a banjo over his head, looking ready to bash in whoever he expected to find. The fourth was holding a map, and unlike his companion, had his hood down. Three's instrument almost slipped from his hands, as he took in what he and his companion had caught. "You?"

"H-hey, Three. Four. Mind letting us down from here?" Four hurried over to a tree to the side, and the net fell to the ground with us still tangled inside. I began to throw it off of us, as Three and Four moved cautiously over to us. No wonder they were cautious. Dipper did say he melted the others, and they thought the same would happen to them.

"I take it mom and dad allowed you two to go back here," Four observed. "Tracey and I didn't think that after the last few days of summer you'd want to return."

"Wait a second. Tracey?" Three nodded, and pointed at himself with his thumb.

"I'm Tracey. He's Quattro. What brings you two out this way? Did Wendy tell you she had spotted us camping out?" Dipper had yet to pull himself to his feet, so once I got free from the net, I grabbed his arms and hoisted him upwards. Once his legs were stable again, I let go.

"Well, yeah. I wasn't expecting you two to have survived this long. The raincoats make a lot of sense." This was... weird. Sure, I had briefly caught glimpses of the clones that night, but seeing multiple lookalikes of my friend... yeah, it's weird. "And why wouldn't I come back to Gravity Falls? I get it, you don't have the memories from the rest of it, but besides Weirdmageddon, it was great. Right, Elaine?"

The three of them turned to me, and I didn't hesitate in responding. The town itself didn't hurt me, and neither did the people in it. It was what the demon did, not Gravity Falls itself. After a few days, I had eased up from the initial nerves. I was handling it better now, and besides that one nightmare on the bus, nothing had happened yet. "I really enjoyed myself, surprisingly. Compared to how you remember me, Dipper and I got a lot closer. The two of us, and Mabel, are practically inseparable."

Tracey and Quattro nod at my words, taking in the new information. "Listen, guys. We don't wanna fight, okay? What happened last summer was a mistake. I didn't mean to wipe out the others. That was an accident. And after all that we went through, I think it'd be best to just clean the air. How about we find a place to talk about it, huh?"

The clones exchanged a look, and Quattro nodded. "This way," Tracey relented. He scooped up the net, slinging it over his shoulder while keeping the banjo in his right hand. Dipper went after him, followed by me, and Quattro took up the rear. It was only a few minutes, but the four of us reached the shelter that they had constructed due to not being able to enter town. It was a tarp hanging over a large branch and weighed down at either end to make a tent. Several rocks circling around a fire pit just on the edge of the tent, with a few pots, pans, and other cooking utensils inside.

"It's not much, but it's home." I turned to Quattro, who was looking at my reaction to their home. His hand snapped ahead though, and I noticed a faint red in his cheeks. _Huh._ "W-why don't we all sit down?"

Tracey sat across from Dipper, eyes still narrowed. I sat on the twin's right, and Quattro sat between Tracey and me. _Okay. Tracey is definitely more serious than Quattro, despite them being the exact same person. Interesting._ "So, um... now what?" Tracey's fingers were gripping the cool stone underneath him, and Dipper squirmed under the heated gaze. "Th-Tracey," I corrected myself on the slip in his name, "let up on Dipper, please? He didn't do anything wrong."

"Wrong? Alright, let's look at the major key point then. Besides the fact you destroyed the others-even though you two say that wasn't suppose to happen-he still went against what we were aiming to do! The goal was to try for Wendy's affections, and from what we could see from the woods, that had gone out the window." _See in the... woods._ They... did they see Dipper and I when he came searching for me before the concert, and when we were digging the monster trap? The moment on the... log? _They know about the change in the crush._ Tracey noticed the change, how the idea clicked in my head, and leaned forward to get closer to me. "We were created initially to get her attention. Not yours; we don't-I don't hate you, Elaine."

"Neither of us do," Quattro spoke up. "But with the fact Tracey and I don't have the memories and experiences Classic here has, whatever emotions he has are different than ours." He lifted his pine tree hat up to run his fingers through his hair, giving a tired sigh. "It's been hard surviving this long. Avoiding all types of liquids, the monsters in the forest, and the townsfolk. A few of the gnomes know about us, and we exchange food when needed, but we can't let ourselves be seen."

"You've had it rough since the last time we've seen you, huh?" Dipper muttered, looking down at the empty fire pit. The kid appeared to be deep in thought, and his head snapped upwards with brightened eyes. _Idea?_ "How about we help you out then?"

"What?" Tracey and Quattro exclaimed, looks of disbelief replacing the hurt and pain from moments earlier. "You want to help us?"

"You guys have had it rough at here, right? Elaine and I can leave food out where you can get it. Cooked food. Maybe we can find a way for you to get moisture without melting too. It'd be an interesting thing for us and Great Uncle Ford to look into." Us and Ford. The fact Dipper and included me in that idea... did he not know of the problem between the author and myself? It was obvious, so was this him trying to get us to try and get things back to normal?

Tracey, still seemed a little stunned, slowly responded for the both of them. "You really want to help us?" Dipper nodded, and threw a grin at me. _Oh. Right._

"It isn't fair that you have to suffer for this dork's idea." Dipper's grin swapped for an annoyed glare, but I continued as if I hadn't seen it. "You're trapped like this, and while I understand you're fine with that, I want to make sure that your lives are as comfortable as they can possibly be."

"Wow, uh, thanks." Tracey's hardened look finally eased up, and he flipped down his hood. "W-with that food delivery idea... can you bring us pancakes from the diner for starters?" I laughed, hearing how shy and anxious he was at the request.

"Hehe. Sure thing, Dippin' Dots the Third. Now then, Dippin' Dots the First, what say we head back to the Shack now, huh?" The three of them, clones and original, all blushed at the nickname, and how I changed it to suit the moment. _Nothing change_ _s, huh?_ It did make me wonder though. Dipper would continue to age, and Tracey and Quattro would remain twelve. Children. _Note for next time: ask about their acceptance of that matter._

"Actually, Elaine, I was hoping to stick around a while longer. You guys don't mind if we chat, do you? I want to know what you've seen or experienced in living in the forest itself." He pulled out his journal, and flipped to a new page before taking out a pen. "You think you can get back to the house by yourself?" I got up and scooted out from the makeshift tent, straightening up to my full height and stretching my back. _Wow, that was cramped._

"It isn't the first time I walked by myself, Dipper. I'll be just fine." I began walking away from the trio, before giving a small wave at Tracey and Quattro. "It was nice meeting you two properly."

"You too!" Quattro called, returning the gesture as I vanished back within the trees in search of the correct trail. It shouldn't be too hard to find the way back. I just had to retrace my steps; the same from earlier, would lead right back to where we started.

I shivered, clutching my flannel tighter than earlier on the walk with Dipper. The wind had severely picked up, thrashing my hair around and sending strands into my vision. Using one hand to keep my shirt closer to me, I brushed the loose hairs behind my ears. The overcast sky had worsened, making me fear that a downpour was soon approaching. _Oh, I hope this won't be a hurricane._ A sudden loud gust of wind almost tripped me over, and I stumbled against a pine tree.

"Ouch." I steadied myself, and felt the nervous pit in my stomach begin to increase. I had lost the trail. I-I was on one, but I couldn't tell if it was the right one. "O-okay, Elaine. Calm down. You've been exploring these woods long enough now that you have the main trail, and the few ones branching off of it memorized. Just... find one of those, and you should be good to go." I sighed, taking a deep breath, and began forward on the mossy trail I was now on. The weather and wind was making it hard to keep track of everything, making markings along the path harder to distinguish.

I-I had this. Nothing was going to go wrong. "Why didn't I invest in a cell phone when I was in Piedmont?" I groaned, before giving a small sneeze at the end. "Why couldn't Gravity Falls be a few more years in the future, with better technology?" _Stupid phones and their stupid calling plans._ "Come on-huh?" A branch, one with several thorns on it, had caught onto the back of my shirt. It hooked underneath, keeping me in place. Another disgruntled noise, and I grabbed the end of the fabric and began to pull at it.

"Seriously? Ah, I don't have time for this!" _One, two three!_ A sudden and sharp yank tore the red cloth free, ripping it apart and sending me flying backwards through a bush. One, to my relief, that bore no briers. My legs tumbled over my head as I fell out of the other end, rolling twice before landing flat on my stomach. _A body... shouldn't move like that._ "O... ouch..."

Slowly, I moved my hands under my body, and started to pull myself up. Dirt was smudged on my face, same with the rest of my clothes and skin. The ground was damp with the misty air, letting it stick without a fight. Keeping a shaky arm to keep myself up, I brought my right hand upwards to wipe at the mud on my glasses. "That's it. This can't possibly get any w... worse..."

I had never wondered, not once, what the statue looked like after almost a year out in the forest. The moss had grown, just as I had predicted, creeping up along the stone. The large rock was showing signs of turning green from being unprotected, from moisture constantly pounding on top of him. His eye was still open wide, just as he was in the final moments in the physical world when he took Stan's hand; arm still outstretched, and hand held out for someone to take. A deal, that never went the way he planned for.

Bill Cipher, the dream demon. The one person I had wanted to avoid, because I **knew** seeing the empty husk would not be... I found him. Accidentally, of course, just like the last time. Yet, there I was. "... you." My breathing was uneven now, desperately trying to control my emotions. No tears, n-no. Now... now was a mixture of a fear, and of anger. Very, very different than the last time. "You... monster. You think th-that just because you aren't around anymore, you feel free to continue to haunt me? To damage my mental state even further?"

My legs found their way back under me, pushing me to my feet and stalking up to it. It, him; did it really matter? He was a statue. Dead to the world. That didn't stop me from venting all of the pain I had felt over the past several months out at him. "I-I can't speak to Ford properly, because I have zero idea what you might've told him in the Fearamid. I-I'm scared of him, all over again. And it's all because of you." Words were soaked in venom, and I continued to move; closer, and closer. I came to a stop a foot away from the hand, my own clenched in fists so tight that my nails were leaving indentations in my skin.

"I-I have s-so many nightmares. A-and hey, it's not like you didn't already know where I was staying this entire time. No, you somehow found me in freaking Piedmont, and gave me back my necklace!" How!? How did he even pull that off!? "Eugh!" I jammed a hand into my pocket, and yanked out said piece of jewelry. The filth on my palm stained the silver, and I rolled the wings over in my index finger and thumb.

"I will never get over what you had done to me, and get this through your thick ego, Cipher! I will never forgive you!" I flung my hand, necklace and all at the statue's arm. The metal hooked around its fingers, spinning the pendant around wildly. At once, everything was silent; the only sound my heavy gasps for air. That is, until a massive shock wave of energy ripped through the air. Coursing through my being, biting at every cell and blasting me backwards away from the statue. My skull cracked against the earth sideways, and the air rushed from my lungs. The world was sideways now, and fuzzy. My blurred eyes stayed on the demon's still form, but I couldn't keep them open any longer... and everything went dark.

* * *

 **A bit of a shorter chapter compared to the last one, but this one wasn't going to focus on massive adventures and secrets. Plus, I was busy over the winter break.**

 **Happy holidays, and happy new year! Next time, we post in 2019!**

 **Angel**


	7. Losing My Mind

**Disclaimer: Get ready, everyone. We're diving into the plot now.**

 **Mokki Takashi: The clones were an opportunity I had to take.**

 **Miss Mystery: I have no clue what song that is. I take it you liked the chapter then.**

 **Luckygurrl12: No, she didn't shake his hand. But in the rush of the moment, she did make contact. Albeit very small, but her fingers did touch his hand.**

 **CureCaligraphy: Yep! No good awaits Elaine.**

 **ultima-owner: True, but it isn't something she can work out. What she had been through will stay with her for a long, long time.**

 **Lunar Moon Butterfly: Just keep reading to find out!**

 **Queenie176: Thank you! GFA is my top series on the site, and I love writing for it.**

 **Sage S. Adoren: It began the moment she returned to Gravity Falls, but... yeah, things go downhill from there.**

 **PorousBubbles: Thanks. If you could, when you reply with those corrections from the past few chapters, could you let me know how to fix chapter 6 too?**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

 _ **Bill speaking**_

* * *

Elaine's POV

"Err... o-ow. Ouch." I hissed, clutching at the side of my skull. "Haven't even been here for two weeks, and already suffering severe injury." _What... just happened?_ I... I raged at the statue, and... _oh no. No, no, no. No._ I did not just carelessly throw the necklace at his hand. I-I didn't, because if I did, then that would mean... "I made contact with... Bill."

The fact flashed through my head like a rocket, and my eyes shot wide open as my body bolted upright in a seated position. The Mindscape. N-no, my Mindscape. My mind. With the gorgeous green fields of grass and wildflowers of all types, and the summer blue sky. And how could I forget the golden ponds that held my memories. Memories of this life, and the one I-I left behind. "This... this is not happening. This is definitely not happening." My footwork pushed me upwards, stumbling a little from weak legs. "I-I just hit my head, that's all. Just a dream. I'm not in my Mindscape, because if I was, then... th-then..."

Then the demon was there too.

But that was impossible. Cipher was gone. Asleep for an indefinite amount of time, and would not wake up until I died. _K... keep... calm, Elaine. Control your breathing. Do not panic._ I could feel the surge of terror, slowly creeping in, and began to take deep inhales and exhales. _Deep breathes. Deep... breathes._ "Just... look for a way out." Adjusting my hair, I surveyed my surroundings before finally setting forward. It looked the same, just like when I saw it when I first met Ford after he exited the portal. A warm, gentle breeze, drifting the plant life around harmlessly. The air smelled sweet, and if it was any other place, I would have left at ease. But it wasn't any other place. There was only one area like it, and it was there, inside my head.

"Which means, of course, I am by no means calm. I flipping made contact with Bill!" I kicked the ground, not satisfied when a tuft of dirt came loose. "What is even happening right n-!" I halted, so suddenly I could have fallen over. _That's... different._ Black. Black fractures, zigzagged across the ground where I stood. In fact, it appeared like there were a lot. _Way more than a lot. They're everywhere._ They dipped into some of the memory pools, and I could see the surface-once a shiny mirror-was looking... tainted. As if someone dropped food coloring into a glass of water, spreading out to reach all possible spots.

"What the heck...?" I spun around, eyes locked onto the damage. "What's... happening in here?" The warmth suddenly felt so much more unsettling with the change in scenery. "What happened to my mind?" Another breeze blew at me from the side, and I turned in its direction. _Follow it._ I did, splitting off in a new direction. The crystal blue sky seemed to fade, shifting to a pale blue as the grass began to die out under my feet with each stressed step.

"These memories... they're all tainted." It was a small section, with the comforting sunny area acting as a massive border. The darkness was tucked away, hidden, and I would have entirely missed it had I not been indirectly directed. _Indirectly directed. Clever._ I cautiously peered at one of the corrupted pools, and flinched back.

 _Dipper yelling at me for the deal... these are all bad memories._ Not just bad ones. These were... they're the stepping stones that lead to... "these are the memories that give me night terrors." Each one was a step towards the Weirdmageddon, and my eventual mental breakdown. Which also meant th-that... **that** memory was skulking somewhere, in this area. "I got to get out." Sneakers crunched against the earth, dead matter flattening under each movement. "I-I got to get out right now!" My back smacked into something, and all at once... every bit of fear-all of the adrenaline and traumatic memories surged outwards as I realized just what-just **who**... I collided with. The clawed hands wrapped around my shoulders, keeping me in place as the lashes of an eye flickered at the back of my neck. _It's-!_

"Didn't think you'd be the one to wake me up, kid. Miss me that much?"

One would think I'd have healed a little from last summer. One would think that the medication, and the hours upon hours of therapy sessions, I'd have calmed down. But hearing his voice, well... I took every ounce of satisfaction in letting my fight-or-flight take over and throwing my elbow backwards into his face. "NO!"

"Aaah!" The demon covered his eye, and with the release, I booked it. The pained shouts faded behind me as I dashed through the destroyed part of my mind, as I tried to find my way out of the small but dense maze. _Run, run, run, run, RUN!_ He-he was an illusion. Th-this was just a bad dream, just like when I arrived to Gravity Falls. Bill was not in my mind. Bill was not in my mind!

"Wake up, Elaine! Wake up!" I threw myself over a small hill, plastering my back against it to catch my breath. I hadn't escaped yet, but hiding was definitely a good start. "Wake. Up!" I pinched my cheek, but that move only earned an annoyed whine and a red mark. "Come on, idiot! You got to get out of here now!"

"There you are!" _Aw, crud!_ The geometric shadow covered me, and I spun around to see him staring me down above the small mound. His eye showed disappointment, and he shook his head. "Yeesh, kid. You got quicker since the last time I've seen you. What's it been now? Two, three years?" _Is he-huh?_ This was still a night terror, right? Right!? Why's he acting all casual!? "Kid?"

"I-it's not even been one, jerk!" The insult was thrown in carelessly at the end, only because I didn't want the stutter to make me appear scared. "You're not even here! Th-this is just a dream! Just a bad dream!" Bill's eye widened, and the crossed arms he had slackened, dropping to his sides.

"Bad dream? Angel, you do know you can't enter this place without my help, right?" I stiffened, hearing the nickname, but forced myself to get up. If I was going to run again, then I had to be on my feet.

"You do not earn the right to call me that, after what you did! A-and no... no, I didn't know that." _Deep breathes, deep breathes. Deep... breathes...!_ "S-so, what? You're saying I'm actually seeing you right now? You're gone! You don't have a form anymore! I-I saw you fade away!" I hugged myself, fingers digging into my arms. "A-and you're acting like you're still alive!? That nothing even h-happened, and that you-you're still...!"

His brow moved upwards, and he floated forward. "You're going to pass out if you don't get your breathing back under control, you know." A mess of brown blinded my vision as I wildly shook my head in the negative, head bowing down and eyes clenched shut. "Kid, calm do-"

 _Go away, go away, go away!_ The feeling of a weight in the back of my head appeared-it either being lighter or lesser-and I let my subconscious grip it. Wrap it around like a rope, a lifeline, and let it drag me out of the nightmare. Through my brown curtain, I could barely make out the demon's shocked look as I dragged myself away with all of my mental strength I had left. Everything went dark, and the warmth was replaced by the cool air of... _an air conditioner?_

"You're awake!" I looked over at the dinosaur table, seeing a soaking wet Dipper with a towel wrapped over his shoulders. The fur hat was almost clinging to his head, droplets of water still visible in the brown. Launching himself off his seat, he went to the table in the back and hurried over with another towel. This one, Dipper threw over my own body. I hadn't even realized that I was shivering. Quite violently, actually. W-was that due to the dream? _But i_ _t seemed so... real._ "Elaine, what happened? I left Tracey and Quattro, and I found you in the woods by..." his voice faltered, looking concerned, and if he should continue.

"... the Bill statue." I inhaled through my teeth, my mouth tightening. "I... got lost, and I... I guess the weight of what happened last summer lead me to having a panic attack at the sight of it. I don't remember anything else after that." Dipper walked around, and I moved my legs off the couch for him to sit down next to me. "I... take it that it was raining when you found me?"

"It got worse on the way back. I packed the walkie-talkie Ford gave us to get a hold of him." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I... couldn't carry you, and it was pretty far from the house." I nodded, and found a small smile making its way to the surface.

"Carry me? Dipper, you helped me drag an adult man out of a spaceship last summer. You have muscle... somewhere, hidden in those little arms." _Now, for the... next step._ "Can I... have some alone time? I need to recollect myself." Dipper opened his mouth, ready to protest, but got up anyways. Maybe it was how spooked I was, but it was clear I truly meant it.

"Alright, Elaine. Just... call if you need something. Are you going to go wash up later? You... have a-there's... something in your hair." _Huh?_ I reached up to my hair, feeling something jutting out from my ponytail. Wrapping my fingers around it, I tugged, and brought my arm down to reveal a twig with several leaves still on it.

"There's stuff still in my hair, isn't there?" He gave a laugh, and began making his way out the door.

"A few pine needles, but that's all. You might want to change your clothes too. I'll get the laundry machine ready when you're done." With a wave, he made his way up the stairs, and I waited a few seconds before sinking back into the seat.

"Oh... well, that happened." _Guess I should go clean up then._ More thumps came from out in the hall, and this time, Ford came into the living room. Just like Dipper, he seemed quite relieved at the sight of me being awake. A mug was in his hand, and he walked over and held it out for me. "Ford?"

"I hoped that this would help make you feel better." Hot chocolate. The scientist gave me hot chocolate. "Dipper told me you got lost in the woods during the storm."

"Yeah, I... I did." _Dipper lied to him? Or did he tell him the truth, and he's playing dumb?_ _"_ Really, Stanford. I feel fine. A little soaked and covered in mud, but I'm perfectly fine." It didn't make things any better. Ford's face fell, at my words and at how defeated I sounded. It was just a dream, after all. The Bill illusion proved nothing, and neither did his words. Yet, seeing the corrupted portion of my mind-whether it was real or not... it disturbed me. Set me on edge. "Thanks for the drink, Ford."

"You're welcome, Elaine. I will see you at supper." He took his leave, and I brought the warm drink up to my mouth to take a sip. _It looks like he's doing better. Probably because_ _I didn't snub him like the last few times._

 ** _O_ _r you're just too tired to do anything, kid. Ever thought of that?_**

The mug almost slipped from my hands at the very clear, and very familiar voice. Regaining my grip, feeling the heated ceramic against my palms, I nervously looked around the room. There were voices in the Mystery Shack, and footsteps everywhere of people doing their activities. But no one-no one-was close enough to have replied to me. Or reply to my thoughts... "no. You're just-no." I glanced at the liquid, watching it ripple from the sudden scared movement. "You're just... you're still wound up from earlier, Elaine. Th-that's all. You're not hearing him."

 _ **Hate to break it to you, but I'm right here.** Oh no._ "Bi... Bill...?" My voice was a petrified whisper, bordering on hysterical. "B-but you are...?" _**That break down of yours really scared me there, kid. Doing better now?**_ I never, not once, experienced the demon's haunting presence outside of the realm of sleep. It was always there. Always, except for when he followed me around through the Mindscape and spoke through my mind. But n-now... with the statue, and the idea I-I made contact... "you're inside my head...!?" **_Hehe. Got it in one._** He sounded so natural about it, and without being able to actually see the demon, I had no idea how to discern any emotion behind the words. "This isn't happening. This is not happening." Standing up and keeping the towel wrapped around my shoulders, I hurried up the stairs and straight towards the washroom. Dipper, thankfully, wasn't inside, and I quickly closed the door. Locking it, I slid to the floor in a heap, chest heaving in desperation for air.

It wasn't happening. It was **not** happening. Cipher was not in my mind-okay, I was just having my sanity slip a little. The weight of what happened-what he did-! "Get outta my head this instant!" I struggled not to scream. If there was, by the smallest chance, that this was really going on, I did not need Ford to know. Adding him into the mix would be an absolute disaster, and I was already walking on a thin rope without the triangle around. "How did you even get in there!?"

 _ **Can't really answer that, truthfully. One minute, I'm stuck in the anti-void, the next I'm bein' pulled backwards and into that sad spot you call your repressed memories.**_ "Gee, and I wonder who helped fill in that 'sad spot'," I snapped. _What the heck is an anti-void, anyway?_ A mental image of Bill rolling his eye passed through my head, before fading just as fast as it appeared. _**Never moved past that, huh? Even after I-?**_ "Just because you admitted what you did was wrong, would never erase what you did to me. So do not even go that way, Bill Cipher." I rested the mug down, drawing my legs to my chest and clutched at my head. "I just-I brought you back. I freaking brought you back." That wasn't supposed to happen. Ever. He was supposed to stay gone. Bill Cipher was not supposed to return!

 _ **Angel, calm down, okay? I can feel your fear from in here.**_ "And I thought I told you not to call me Angel anymore." _Deep breathes... wind down. Shutting down at this point won't solve anything._ "What do you want?" A few seconds ticked by, as I awaited a response. _**Nothing. In case you forgot, kid, I said I couldn't get my strength back for a while. Havin' a physical body does play in my favor, but unfortunately**_ , he ended with a growl, **_we're both stuck like this._**

"I don't want to be stuck like this! I want this summer to go without any life-threatening problems! But nooo! I get the 'chaos god' trapped in my Mindscape!" I threw the words from last summer back at him, and heard the deep grumble echo inside my skull. "Mrs. Bolivar said I needed to lay my demons to rest. This is not what we had in mind."

 _ **Newsflash: I'm not exactly thrilled either. Especially after the not-so welcome back**_ , Bill remarked. My heart finally returned to a semi-normal beat, and I pulled myself off the floor. Leaving the mug where it sat, I moved over to the mirror. No yellow in my eyes, and no slit pupils. I looked completely normal, yet the demon was making his arrival quite loudly. _Can he even see right now?_

 _ **Nope. Whatever you think and hear though, comes through loud and clear.**_ "Great. It's last summer all over again." What was I supposed to do? I was somewhat aware of magic, and my knowledge of the supernatural proved extremely useful. Did I have a solution somewhere buried in my head, or was there an answer to our joint dilemma out there in the woods? "O-okay. Okay. Listen, Bill. I'll try and figure something out on my end, and you... you try and figure out something in there. But until you get an idea that might help us, I don't want you speaking to me. Got it?"

 _ **What? Kid, you're bein' too-**_

"What, Bill? Too harsh? I know you were watching me since I left last summer. How else would my necklace return to me, when I remember quite clearly I left it at your statue?" _**Angel, come on!**_ I didn't answer, though I did give a small huff at the return to the nickname. Instead, I grabbed my mug and headed off to the bedroom. I had to get changed and wash my hair out, after all... "wait." I placed the finished drink on the top of the dresser, arms full of clean clothes. I was going to have a bath, with... a demon trapped in me. "Mmm... okay, I'll speak to you just this one more time. If I'm about to do anything in the washroom, or change my clothes, you cannot look, okay?" My tone was sharp, and for good reason. Despite him not thinking straight when it happened, I refused to allow him to get one look at me in any way, shape, or form. "You may not see anything, but I want you as far away as possible when that happens."

I didn't get a verbal reply, but just like before, a mental image of Bill flashed through my head. His arms were crossed, and he gave me a very sour look. Still, he slowly nodded, before turning around and vanishing. _Good._ I stepped into the room, locked the door, and yanked the elastic from my hair. The mess of brown fell down my back, giving me a good look at the mess Dipper was talking about. _Oh well. Best get this done as fast as I can. Sooner I do, sooner I can work_ _out_ _this... problem._

(Time Skip)

"Well, looks like someone finally fixed herself up." I walked into the kitchen, finding everyone already at the table. Melody was at the stove, dipping up a bowl of tomato soup. Mabel grinned, jumping up in her seat upon my arrival at Stan's words. "How're you doin'?"

"... could be better." My words didn't come out as fast as I would've liked, having to think it over before responding. I went over to the food, and Melody handed me over my own dish to fill. "Thanks." The only empty seat was right between the two brothers, and while I would rather be anywhere other than next to Ford-especially right at this very moment-I... had no other option.

My bowl wasn't very full, and I dragged the spoon along the bottom before finally beginning to eat. There were eyes on me; all of them, even the ones who didn't look to me right away. My behavior from this morning had taken a nosedive, and it surprised everyone. "Elaine..." Ford examined my gaunt face, concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Hey, Sixer. Lighten up, will you? Girl's been through enough in the past few hours. Elaine doesn't need you hounding over her." _Bless you, Grunkle Stan._ He had no idea how much that meant to me. Stan was right. Ford had been showing his worry over my health a little too much since I came back. It made the idea of trying-slowly, but still trying-to warm back up to him. But he wouldn't stop! What was I supposed to do!?

The author's brows knitted together, not pleased with the comment or how his brother was siding with me. "I'm sorry if showing interest in her well-being is something that's bothering you," Ford began, "but it is not your place to answer for h-"

"Well, maybe I would, if you'd actually let up on me for once instead of bothering me the moment you first came back." The snap... it wasn't expected. Maybe everyone had an inkling, of it being bound to happen, but never this soon. Just... everything in the last several hours boiled over, and I... finally did something on those feelings. Dipper was alarmed, looking from me to his uncle with wide eyes. Mabel was an uncomfortable mix of shock and sadness, Soos and Melody exchanged a look as they were not sure how to respond to the clearly private matter, and Stan looked down at his own bowl with a hard look in his eyes and a frown. But the worst of it... Ford had no idea how much he was pressuring me, or what happened earlier. His head lowered, ashamed, and just as silent as the rest of them. Slowly, the weight of what I just said sank in, and my face morphed from anger to horrified realization. "... excuse me." I got to my feet, pushing my chair out before quickly retreating from the room and struggling to remove the images of everyone's faces from my mind.

"E-Elaine, wait!" The scraping of wood on wood echoed behind me, and I just beat it up the stairs before looking back. Dipper was at the bottom, one foot already on the staircase and a hand on the railing. "If this is about what happened earlier, I swear, I didn't tell Great Uncle Ford anything." So I was right. Dipper did lie to Ford. _Wow, heh... never thought I'd see that happen._ "He doesn't know what happened out there."

"I just... I-I need some time to think. I'll finish my food later. Please, Dipper," I stressed, "I need a moment."

Dipper sighed, seeing I wasn't coming back down, and got off the step. "Okay. Just... remember, Mabel and I are hear to listen if you need it." The defeated boy trudged back towards the kitchen, and I waited a moment before going the rest of the way to the bedroom. _I'll get the laundry later._ Legs giving out, I dropped onto my bed with a tired sigh.

"Oh, what do I do now?" _**Well, for starters, you should just accept I'll keeping responding to what I hear. You can ignore me all you want, toots, but we're housing the same body right now. Best get used to it.**_ I gripped the bed sheets, shaking my head as I stared angrily at the floor. "I don't want to 'get used to it', Cipher. In fact, I don't want anything to do with you." _**You said that already too.**_

Said it, yes, but that was all I was going to say. Thoughts I couldn't control so well, but I would not let myself continue to speak directly to the demon. I'd find a way to force him from my mind, continue on with my summer, and then go on with life and figure out where to go for university. _**So... how**_ _ **ha**_ _ **ve you been?**_ "Ugh..." I rolled over, feet hanging over the edge of my bed and grabbed my pillow. Holding it over my face, I wanted the action to block out the voice. _**Angel, you know that isn't gonna work on me.**_

The pillow was removed, and slid to the floor softly. I'm _sick of this commentary. Honestly, I'm going to lose my mind if this keeps up._ The words were directed at no one, but still pointed towards specifically towards Cipher. Even without a voice, the venom was still there, ringing in loud and clear. "I'll never forget, or forgive. Because as far as I'm concerned... you've been dead to me the moment you went after my twins."

3rd POV

Repression in the mind was easy enough to pull off. For the person he was currently trapped in, having suffered under his claw, it was a different matter. Why? Because no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get out of the blackened and dying part of her Mindscape!

His hands were stinging from having tried pounding against an invisible wall. He could fly as high up as he wanted, but no matter where he went, the barrier was always there. It was the stupid hick town all over again! "Aarrgh!" No escape, no powers, nothing. Nothing! He was still too weak to do anything, having not healed even remotely long enough before Angel brought him back.

 _Different form, he says. Different time, he says._ "Grrr... if this is what that big frilly had in mind in that stupid rhyme of his..." Bill grumbled, sinking back down and resting on the bleached grass. "Then I ain't happy." There was nothing he could in there. Without her assistance, he couldn't alter the landscape. Everything, all of his powers: gone. Poof. "Heh... can't get any worse than this, Bill."

Trapped in the mind of someone who once treasured his company. Now, however, was someone who was constantly shunning him and breaking down the minute he alerted her of his arrival. He had to admit... that stun. Quite a bit, actually. It was like all of the amusement, and joy from when they hung out had vanished altogether. _And she wants me to figure out a way to fix this?_ How'd she expect him to do that when he had no powers? "Hmmm... aha!" Bill snapped his fingers, springing back into the air as his body flashed a bold yellow. That was it! Patching things up was the only way for him to break out of this small cage. If she wanted to get him out of her mind, she'd have to get used to him again.

He did promise, after all. Pine Tree and Shooting Star couldn't keep her safe. Not forever, unlike himself. He'd look after her, and make sure she wouldn't get hurt. _Hurt..._ the excited look dropped in his eye. _I promised you, Angel, that nothing bad will happen to you again. Not through them..._ "or..." Bill sighed, and a flicker of blue rippled through the yellow glow. "Through me."

* * *

 **This was a very plot heavy chapter. Not everything will purely be focused on Bill, but Elaine's relationships with him and Ford are going to be very important.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	8. Mabel's Eggcellent Adventure

****Disclaimer: I'm just saying it now, that any consistent updating schedule has gone out the window. Not that I'm entirely busy, but whatever free time I have is being dedicated to school. Not to mention the other story I got going on.****

 ** **Mokki Takashi: She has the demon who tried to end the world in her head. Of course it will blow up in her face. Glad you're enjoying the story!****

 ** **Miss Mystery: Glad you liked it!****

 ** **ultima-owner: Actually, funny thing, my original idea was to have the corrupted memory pools be on fire. But... that was a little... honestly, I had no idea what I was thinking there.****

 ** **CureCaligraphy: His own trauma was buried under thousands of years. Elaine's was still fresh, and he has no idea how much it affected her until that moment when they met again. And it's not so much awkwardness, as it is full of tension.****

 ** **Lunar Moon Butterfly: He may be back, but it's not exactly a good thing. As for the Henchmaniacs, they will appear in the story, but until much later.****

 ** **Queenie176: Big review equals big answer. Out of a lot of stories I've written, GFA always stands out to me as my biggest and most popular project because of how much I put into it. Sure, I've had stories that I do research for, and look at all possible angles and put my own creative spin on it, but something about Gravity Falls allowed me to do something special. To summarize: you are going to love where I take this sequel. New adventures, dark twists, and brand new characters. By the way, I am taking great pride in the fact I introduced you to Hamilton. It's the story where it happened!****

"Speaking"

 _ _Thinking__

 _ ** **Bill speaking****_

* * *

Elaine's POV

"You know, Elaine, if you keep glaring at that bookshelf, I bet it'll burst into flames." I didn't bother looking up at Wendy, who was ringing in a customer. Today was her shift, but she had requested the later part of the afternoon off, to which Melody would then take over. Asger was finally coming back, and she, Kat, and I were going to join the Northwests in meeting him at the bus stop. Finally, like Mabel, I had my entire group back together again. __And boy, do I need them.__

 _ _ ** **Want someone to vent to about your little problem, eh, Angel?****__ I blanked the demon, giving only a small shiver as the single sign I heard him. I was incredibly relieved that I wasn't pulled into the Mindscape when I fell asleep the previous night, and not having to go through... that mess, again. "Well, then I'd be off to a school for mutants," I replied, not breaking my stare-down. I had camped down along the edge of the counter, behind it just enough that I could see across the room, but hidden enough that I could easily duck under in case someone came in.

That someone being a certain six-fingered author.

Oh, I felt so horrible after that! I didn't bother going back downstairs at all, despite saying to Dipper I would return for my supper. Instead, I passed out in my bed, overwhelmed from everything with tears staining my cheeks and still in my clothes from that day. By the time I did wake up, it was already busy in the Mystery Shack, leaving me to get breakfast by myself. I hadn't seen Mabel and Dipper yet, Stan had gone off to assist Soos in creating new attractions while the new owner conducted a tour, Melody was running errands, and Ford... no clue. I believed he went down to the lab, but I was in no rush to go after him.

I just... I blew it. I lost my cool, and no one-not even I-was prepared for it. Bill, thankfully, only made those few comments last night. He didn't say anything about what happened downstairs. He was keeping quiet, and for that, I was able to calm back down and try to figure out a solution as to what I was to do next. __Stan is obviously on my side, and by the looks of things, so is everyone else. But Ford is just-ugh! Why is the man so determined!?__

"Dipper told me about what happened." Her voice was low, not wanting to attract any of the roaming tourists in the room. "He does care about you."

"... I know." I finally looked up at her, shoulders sagging. "He cares a lot. But Wendy, he... it was just..." Wendy knelt down beside me, balancing on her feet in a crouched position and rested a hand on my shoulder. "I broke."

"Too much pressure?" I nodded, sinking deeper into my little huddle. "Why didn't you just say something to him? Like, didn't you and him walk together in that comic?"

"I did, but we were so focused on getting Grunkle Stan back, I didn't even consider it. I want things to go back to the way things were. Yeah, I mean, at the start I had trouble speaking to him, but by the end of the summer we got along amazingly." We would chat often while I was at school, late at night, about what the other was doing. Never had he brought up the events from the summer. Not through the walkie-talkie, and not before I boarded the bus. Ford kept it to himself.

Ford... he said that when the time was right, and I was ready, then he wanted to know what happened. I had told myself, back in the hospital, that... he would be the first to know about my true relationship. __But all of that basically jumped out the window. Now, I have the demon himself in my head hitching a ride for an indefinite amount of time, Ford keeps wanting to make sure I'm fine but I'm not and pressuring me is only making it worse, and I just-I can't keep this up forever!__ "Dude, you need to do something. I could feel the tension the moment I entered." I could almost feel a sense of agreement deep in my mind, and I knew it wasn't from me. __Why is he in agreement?__

No response. Of course, now he was silent again. "I bet you could. I'll try something, okay? I need time to figure out what."

"Hello!" The door swung open, and we got up off the ground. Grenda and Candy walked into the gift shop, heading over to us. "Have you seen Mabel?" Candy asked, adjusting her glasses. "She has called us over big news."

"Big news?" Wendy repeated. "About what?"

"Girls!" As if she was standing right outside the door, Mabel burst into the room from the opposite side. The brown and pink blur dashed over, knocking a poor blond boy over as he was examining the t-shirt rack. Skidding to a stop, she clasped her hands together and bounced on her heels. "I am so glad you could make it!"

"Hey, Mabel? Where's your brother?" Her head snapped up to me, excited smile not breaking.

"Dipper is busy getting pancakes for his copycat pals from the diner." __Copycat pals?__ Hehe. Wow, poor Tracey and Quattro. Hopefully Mabel would never say that in front of them. They all looked the same, but it was clear that they had different personalities. __Maybe they formed over time, breaking away from the standard Dipper model?__ "He should be back later." Turning back to her friends, she motioned for them to follow her back through the door to the living room.

"Copycat pals? The clones, right?" I nodded, but didn't bother turning to look at her. "Elaine?"

"Sorry." A few seconds, and then I moved back to my taller friend. "Call me paranoid, but I think Mabel's up to something." Wendy chuckled, and turned her attention to a middle-aged woman who approached us with a handful of postcards.

"It's Mabel. I'm sure whatever the kid's up to is fine." __Oh, I really hope you're right.__ It wasn't as if I needed marker all over my face, or something.

3rd POV

Now, Mabel usually didn't get too involved with the supernatural. Normally, that would be Dipper's fault, or a joint effort. However, this time was completely by accident. Only the end result was on purpose.

She had gone off in the woods not long after Dipper and Elaine, before the storm had struck, to get her mind off of her treasured pet stuck back home. It wasn't too far into the woods she went, but just a simple walk along the main path before turning around and heading back to the Mystery Shack. It began simple enough, until the gnomes came along. It wasn't Jeff, but two other gnomes. In their hands was a relatively decent sized egg, with both of them carrying it through the forest towards the area they were known to live in. The twin, being the animal lover she was, wasn't having any of that.

So, she did what any normal person would do. She picked up a small rock, threw it, and had it ricochet off of their heads. The gnomes fell to the ground, stunned, and she darted forward to grab the egg before it could land. Smiling at her success, Mabel hurried on back to the Shack, just as the first water droplets had begun to fall.

"Which is why I now have a new pet!" She gestured to the dark red and black speckled egg sitting in a makeshift paper nest, as Candy and Grenda leaned down to get a better look at it. The surface was gently cleaned with a toothbrush, since she didn't want the gnomes' grubby hand prints on the shell. "I couldn't just let them eat the little thing.

"I have never seen an egg like this before," Candy observed. "Do you know what is inside?"

"Nope! But who cares, really. Anything to help fill the Waddles-sized hole in my heart." Her voice lowered a little at the end, and Grenda patted her on the shoulder. It didn't go well, even with Dipper and Elaine comforting her on leaving the pig home in Piedmont. She missed having him with her at night, and seeing the infant bird in need, she seized the chance to help. __Waddles is going to love them! Oh! I better start thinking of names when they hatch!__

The egg faintly rocked back and forth, making the trio ooh in wonder. "I think it's going to hatch today!" Grenda exclaimed.

"Yep!" Mabel put her hands on her hips, grinning. "Momma Mabel has this all under control! Nothing can possibly go wrong!"

And then the nest caught fire.

"Oh, hehe. Yeah, that also happens." Mabel dashed behind the boxes in the attic room, running back over to the window seat and began spraying the fire extinguisher over the tiny blaze. The blaze died out just as quickly as it began, and she reached into her sweater's pocket to put on two oven mitts to pick it up.

Candy and Grenda gave each other a curious look, before looking down at the egg. "That has happened before?" The smaller of the two inquired, pushing her glasses back up.

"Three times," Mabel replied. "But don't worry! I got everything under contro-!" The egg's surface seemed to shake for a moment, before a blast of heat shot upwards off of it. The girls leaned back in alarm, Mabel giving a startled shriek, and Candy quickly took the extinguisher off the ground. Just as she had seen moments earlier, she copied the motions on the red canister and sprayed the egg for a few seconds. Taking a few seconds to regain her composure, Mabel threw her a thankful smile. "Thanks, Candy."

"Mabel, perhaps keeping a combustible creature in a wooden building is not a wise idea," Candy replied slowly, eyeballing the egg in case it burst into flames again.

"Maybe..." __I guess having someone look after it while I fireproof the house is a good idea.__ but who could she ask? Elaine would tell Dipper if she told her, and Dipper would tell Ford. And she did not need her great uncle hearing about this. The few scorch marks scattered around the house-from the deck, to the bathroom, to the room they were all currently gathered in-would no doubt catch his interest. He'd make her get rid of her new pet, and Mabel was having none of that. No, sir. "Hmm... I think I know just the person to go to."

(Time Skip)

Elaine's POV

It was pretty easy getting out of the Shack and into town. I had gotten Wendy lunch, having gone into the kitchen while Stan was in there to make it. Bringing her back a sandwich, we ate in the shop and waited for Melody to come and relieve her. Exiting the building, we began our trek to the bus stop, chatting over basic stuff such as the newest stupid song on the radio. __Why doesn't this topic shock me?__ "We're almost there."

"I see Pacifica and her parents already there." I looked ahead, spotting the two older Northwests and the young blonde in front of them. A few feet away from them, sitting along the curb of the road, was Kat. "Hey, blue." Her head snapped up at Wendy's voice, and scrambled back to her feet.

"Hi, guys." Mr. And Mrs. Northwest looked over at us and I felt a twinge of satisfaction as Priscilla's paling face as we made eye contact. __Yeah, you better be afraid.__ Pacifica did seem to be in higher spirits, regardless of a severely changed living condition. She was happy when I first saw her at the diner, and she still was. __I wonder what's happened since I last saw her, over the months?__ "Having fun so far this summer?"

Wendy laughed, and elbowed me. "Depends on your version of fun. Right, Elaine?"

"Hehe, yeah, well... being sucked into a comic book is not exactly something I'd call fun." Kat didn't need to know about everything else. Neither did Asger. Sure, the two of them were the first ones to know about my deal with Bill, and the truth about my dimension, but that's because they were in a league outside of the Pines family. They weren't being hounded by the supernatural, or having their lives threatened all the time.

Kat blinked, and shook her head as an idea seemed to pop into her head. "No. No, I don't want to know." A loud honk blasted through the air, and the grey bus began to slow down after appearing over the hill. As it screeched to a stop, the lone passenger hopped off, dragging a large black suitcase down from the steps with him. Just like Kat, Asger's appearance hadn't really changed except for a few things; red jeans to a faded blue, and a red zippered hoodie which was currently undone. His black hair was longer than last time, but overall, it was still the same teen I literally ran into at the beginning of summer.

 _ _Weird. Like, this isn't a cartoon, and yet people will still wear clothes on a basic theme. Why is that? Why's that still a thing?__ I apparently had blocked out him greeting his aunt, uncle, and cousin, and just tuned back in when he came over to us. Kat and him quickly hugged, and he moved to Wendy, giving her a longer hug and a kiss on the cheek. When he got to me, he instead placed a hand on my head, and ruffled my hair. Strands fell down around my face, and I blew one out of the way and glared softly up at him. "Sure. Hug the others, and act like I'm the adorable kid."

Asger chuckled, and finally pulled me into a hug. __Did he go through a growth spurt since last time?__ When I had last seen him, he was only an inch taller than Wendy, and Wendy was already fairly tall. Now, he might have been a little below six feet. "Whatever you say, Elaine. It's nice to see you again."

"Yeah, yeah." I brushed my hair back behind my ear, smiling. I really did miss my squad. Wendy, Kat, and finally Asger. Everyone was back in town. __Yep... everyone.__

 ** _ ** _Nice to know you're including me in that, kid._**_** I was, but it wasn't a direct thought. "We'll have to meet up properly tomorrow. I got a lot to do today." Asger lifted the bag up an inch off the ground, and rested it back on the road. "You mind me coming over to the Shack?"

"It's Saturday, so we'll be busy," I told him. "However, I can try and convince Stan to let me and the twins off easy so you and Pacifica can come over. Just make sure she's not working then too." Amazingly, neither the twins nor I had worked yet that summer. Either it was because Soos was great at juggling the work and Melody was fantastic in the gift shop by herself, and had Wendy to assist her, or Stan wanted the three of us to simply enjoy the summer for all its worth. __I actually wouldn't mind working though. Wherever I decide to go for school, the money's going to help. Not like I can afford a high-end place to begin with.__

"I'll do that. Later!" The Northwests had already gotten into the limo, while Pacifica waiting for him to walk over. The driver assisted him in putting his luggage into the trunk, and the two climbed into the back. The elderly man closed the door behind Asger, got into the front, and the family drove off down the road.

"I thought they were strapped for cash?" Wendy shook her head, and began heading off in the direction the vehicle just took.

"Nope. They sold the mansion to preserve their fortune. They still got some money, but their wealth did do a nosedive since then." I nodded at her explanation. I had learned bits and pieces about what happened when I was in the hospital, and only got a real understanding when Ford drove me back to the Mystery Shack.

"Hey, Elaine? Can I talk to you for a moment?" I had just started following Wendy, pausing mid-stride to look back. "Please?"

"Um... sure? Wendy, if you're heading back, can you let the kids know I'll be a bit late?" She flashed a grin and a thumbs up, also stopping a few feet ahead.

"Sure thing, but why do you keep calling them kids? They're not that much younger than us." I shrugged, and moved back to Kat.

"I'm seventeen, but my mind is older." __These New York City streets get colder, I shoulder-!__ "If I count mental years, I'm already eighteen, which somewhat makes me an adult...?" I trailed off for a moment, and shrugged. "At least in some places of Canada. Besides, Wendy," a fond smile made its way onto my face, "calling them kids, or more specifically my kids, is the closest affectionate term I can get to calling them my brother and sister."

"You really do care for them, huh? Okay, Elaine. See you back at the Shack." Wendy continued n down the hill, and the girl next to me waited a few seconds before finally speaking. __What has her so freaked out?__

"Elaine? Did you ever hear about... a flaming animal?" She asked slowly, hesitating on the second part.

"A... I'm sorry, flaming animal? Kat, last time I checked, animals don't combust." She nodded, holding her hands out as if she was trying to calm me down.

"I know, I know. But listen for a moment, okay? My house is on the edge of town, a little more in the woods than Wendy. Before I headed out for this, I saw something overhead. It was fast, and I only caught a glimpse of it, but the entire thing was covered in flames." Well... that certainly had my interest. Flaming animal? In Gravity Falls, I shouldn't be all that surprised.

"Let me think... you said it was overhead, which means that it was either jumping over the treetop or was flying. You also said it appeared to be on fire, and since we're in a town prone to the supernatural and unusual..." **_**_Angel, you better not be going after it._**_** I masked my confusion well, not alerting Kat about the demon's sudden voice. **_**_You know full-well what it is, and chasing one is downright idiotic._**_** Well, that was all I needed to hear. "It's a phoenix."

"A what?" I drifted away from Kat, looking over the town as if I could easily catch sight of the creature. __Figures. Of course there's something like that in a town known for the supernatural and fantasy.__ "Elaine, are you sure?"

"Positive. The bird's searching for something... and I think I might know where to go." __Dang it, Mabel.__ A new and terrifying creature, plus Mabel acting strange and hiding something, equals a disaster waiting to happen. "Mabel was acting odd right before I left, and if the phoenix is searching for something..." the color went from my face, and I started sprinting towards town.

"Elaine, where are we going!?" She cried out, watching as I dashed over the hill. "Elaine!?"

"To find Mabel, and fast!"

3rd POV

"It explodes?" Gideon looked at the egg in the small metal pot Mabel held, then back to her. When she had shown up at his house willingly, he couldn't believe it. Still, seeing the girl with blackened marks on her face, singed spots on her red sweater, and the smell of smoke clinging to her, he was quick to bring her inside. If his sweet Mabel needed help, he'd do all he could to assist.

"Several times," she replied with a sigh. "Gideon, it's going to hatch soon, and I'd rather have someone who won't get on my case and know about the town help me out."

Gideon reached inside the pot, and plucked the egg out. It was warm, and he could feel movement. Judging from the size, he was leaning towards it being a bird. __But what kinda bird sets itself on f-?__ The realization struck the child like lightning, and a look of fear crept across his pale face. "Mabel, my peach... ya need ta put that back where ya found it. Right now."

"Huh? But why?" Sure, she had interesting tastes in pets, but Elaine had that octopus-thing from the Nightmare Realm! What was worse than that?

The white haired boy didn't answer. Instead, he put the egg back in the pot, grabbed her hand, and ran out of the living room and away from the house to the woods. The less people, the better, should what he feared come and find them. "Ya ever hear of a phoenix?" __Phoenix?__ Mabel shook her head in the negative, and he continued. "It's a bird with a long life, dyin' in a burst of flames and is reborn from the ashes. Livin' sometimes for five hundred years before doin' so."

"I have its egg?" Mabel asked, looking at said object rolling gently back and forth. "But the gnomes had it! They were going to-!"

"Them gnomes aren't always the brightest. I bet my hair that they were tryin' to lure it to their part of the forest. Phoenixes are a mighty high untapped magic source. Tears, I've heard, had healing powers." A shadow large enough to block the sun overhead soared overhead as a loud, shrill screech pierced the sky, making the two come to a halt with Mabel nearly running him over. __Too late.__

Mabel wasn't as familiar with mythical animals as Elaine was, recalling the few stories she would tell her from the book series in her dimension she loved so much. Trolls, hobgoblins, and the like. She wasn't sure of what the bird hunting them would resemble. But standing right underneath it, as sapphire blue eyes studied them from a branch a dozen feet above... it was terrifying, and majestic, all at once. A large tail of pure flames danced beneath it, with golden claws piercing the wood with a grip that would shatter bone. Gigantic wings were folded in, starting off a bright yellow and changing to the color of embers at the tips. The few feathers on its head were slicked back, and with the shape of its beak, it reminded her the faintest bit of an eagle. __A... very large and... fiery eagle.__

"Mabel?" Gideon and Mabel heard a voice break through the trees behind them, and the bird's head snapped up in the direction it came from. Elaine, gasping for air and favoring one leg, skidded to a stop. "Thank goodness I found you... oh, I'm too late."

"Uh-huh." The older girl, just as she had feared, had been lead straight to Mabel. She had initially started off towards the Shack, only to catch sight of an orange glow off towards the Gleeful dealership. Switching directions, she took off and began circling around the property in search of her and what she guessed was Gideon. Finding the phoenix so soon... she could've done without. "Gideon, what do we do?"

"Ya gotta give her back her egg," he whispered, not looking away from the talons. One wrong move, and the creature would not hesitate in attacking. Either by a scorching inferno, or by being torn to shreds. "Mabel, ya gotta do it right now."

"I can't believe you stole a phoenix's egg," Elaine whispered harshly. "I can't even-how do you even do that?"

"I thought it was a normal bird," Mabel replied, just as quiet. Neither of them moved from their spot, as the bird tilted its head. A soft sizzling emitted from the pot, drawing theirs and the mother's attention to it. __It's about to hatch,__ she realized, __any second now.__ "Guys?"

"Give it to her, Mabel, now." The longer they waited, the more the bird would become agitated. If it was anything like her experience with the dinosaur last summer, Elaine knew for a fact arguing would only worsen things. "I know you want to have another pet, but having our lives in tact is much more important."

"But I can't, Elaine," Mabel insisted. "I already can't have Waddles here with me. I-I don't want to be alone all summer." The two reacted much in the same way, with stunned surprise. Alone? What did she mean by that? She had all of her friends and family there, so what was she missing? "Elaine... last summer, you were always off with your friends, or Ford, or Dipper... there were times when it was just me, and I always spent those times with Waddles. Sure, we've gone on adventures already, but... it doesn't feel the same."

 _ _This is partially because of me?__ "Oh, Mabel. I-I didn't know you felt that way." A stab of guilt went through the teen, and she looked away. __I've been so focused on me... I really was ignoring her that much?__ "But you can't keep a living thing that wasn't yours to begin with." The phoenix cawed for a moment, snapping their attention up to it. __Really better hurry now!__

"... I know ya want to keep it, but that egg don't belong to you." Elaine looked back at Gideon, hearing the hesitant words come from him. "B-but forcin' it to be with ya isn't a good thing." His nervous look slipped a moment. "I'm-a talkin' from experience."

Elaine looked from the flaming creature to him, and slowly put a hand on the young girl's shoulder, tightening her fingers around it. "Mabel... it's time. Let it go." Mabel gave a deep sigh, nodded, and felt Elaine's grip fade away. Without breaking away from the phoenix's stare, she inched forward, and held the pot out at arm's length.

The orange head looked down, and the massive wings pounded against the summer air. She lifted herself upwards, and came flying down to Mabel's height. She stiffened, and fought down the fear and feeling of wanting to dart back to the others. __Steady, Mabel. You got this.__ Still a few feet above her, but the distance between them was not by much. The twin could feel the heat radiating off of the majestic beast, rippling off in waves. Peering down into the pot, she lowered her head in and nipped at the egg with her beak. She felt the weight vanish as it was lifted out, held securely in place. The deep blue pools reflected Mabel's reflection, and the phoenix dipped her head for a moment.

"Mabel, bow back," Elaine quietly called to her. "Show her respect."

"O-oh, right." Straightening up, she bowed in return, keeping her eyes on what was ahead. "Sorry for... taking your child. I hope they're fine." The phoenix gave no indication she understood her words, but had brought her head up once she saw the girl return the gesture. Spreading out her wings, the branches rustled in a powerful wind as she took off to the skies. Flames danced behind her tail as she, and the precious cargo, disappeared over the treetops, and vanished from their sight. "Phew." Mabel didn't even notice she was holding her breath, letting it out as she shoulders slumped.

"I never want to do something like that again," Elaine said, wiping at the beads of sweat on her forehead. From terror, or from the heat, she wasn't quite sure. __Probably both.__ "You okay, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She turned around, and walked back over to them. Mabel rubbed one of her arms, looking away from Gideon. "Gideon, I'm sorry I got you pulled into that mess. I should've listened to Candy and Grenda and gotten rid of it when I had the chance." Elaine flashed her a grin and a thumps up. __Gotta say, he really is trying to be a better person.__

Gideon's pale cheeks reddened, and smiled back. Before he had a chance to speak though, Elaine cut in, wrapping an arm around Mabel. __Sorry, Gideon. I'd rather have no flirting on my watch.__ "Don't worry, Mabel. You can always help me feed Mister Squiggles."

The younger child was not sure why Mabel looked uncomfortable at the offer, but decided not to ask about what this 'Mister Squiggles' was. "Um... no thanks, Ellie. I-I'll pass."

"If ya want, y'all could come over and play with Cheekums?" Mabel smiled, and stuck her hand out. Gideon looked from it to her, and slowly made to grab it.

"I'd like that, Gideon," she replied earnestly. "Would you come too, Elaine?" Chuckling, Elaine moved over, making sure Gideon had let go before ruffling the top of her head.

"I got to keep my eye on you somehow, don't I? I promise, Mabel. I'm going to have to do a lot of healing this summer, but I will not shove you off. Not you, or Dipper-"

"Or Ford?" Elaine retracted her hand, not expecting the question. __Well... that's a matter unto itself.__

"I'm... going to have to work on that. Now, let's go you two. We've had an interesting day, and I think doing something relaxing is much needed." Gideon took the lead, bringing the three back through the woods towards his house. "Though, I am wondering... which is probably going to turn into a bad thing, but what do you think Ford is up to right now?"

"Don't worry about him, Elaine. You can ask him about it tomorrow." __Yeah, heh...__ Elaine nodded slowly, despite Mabel not turning around to see it. _ _Tomorrow.__

 _ ** _Face it, kid. You're not gonna fess up. I can see right through you._**_

 _ _There's that annoying and twisted voice in my head. Wonder what happened to it.__ She did wonder how he managed to keep himself almost silent all day. True, she was ignoring him, but the amount of silence did make her curious.

 _ ** **You're even more afraid than you were before I came along, Angel. Besides your earlier fears, you're terrified of what he would do to you should he find out about your little secret. After all, if Sixer was willing to put a metal plate in his head to keep me out, it does make you think what he'd do to you.****_

Mabel and Gideon were unaware, focusing on the trail ahead, but all the blood drained from Elaine's face, leaving it as pale as when she realized the truth about the bird. She was keeping it hidden from Ford, yes, but... she didn't consider what he could do if she told him or he found out on his own. __I... Ford isn't heartless. He'd never do something without talking to me about it.__

 _ _ ** **Oho! Really now. Kid, I can't even begin to tell you how much you're wro-!****__ As quickly as the link started, she slammed it shut, wincing at the sudden pounding in her skull. Ford was... no. "He'd never do... anything to hurt me." __All of that concern from before proves that. The wanting to speak to me, and the episode at the dinner table; all of that shows he cared.__ "He wouldn't."

 _ _... right?__

* * *

 ** **Wow, this chapter was a mess to try and plan out. I really wanted to write this idea, but at the same time, I suppose you can call this a filler chapter. Nothing too exciting going on, but interesting to read all the same.****

 ** **Next time-which will probably be a while-will center around Pacifica. Using some interesting knowledge from an online source, I decided I'd put it to good use by making a chapter on her.****

 ** **Until next time, whenever that is!****

 ** **Angel****


	9. Bloodcraft: Overdeath

****Disclaimer: I have been gone for almost a month, and I am so sorry about that. I really hope this chapter makes up for it. It might not be as good as it could've been, with several assignments and midterms this week, but things should let up after that.****

 ** **Miss Mystery: Yes. Yes, it is. There's a lot of details on the website about Pacifica, so I could be using anything to make this chapter.****

 ** **Calamity Heart and Bill Cipher: Thank you! I'm glad that this filler chapter was enjoyable to read.****

 ** **ultima-owner: I know. The entire purpose of nearly being burned alive was for Mabel to admit something, and for some Gideon character growth.****

 ** **Lunar Moon Butterfly: There's no similarities here. They're two completely different birds.****

 ** **Queenie176: GFA 2, while the entire story will be darker as a whole, will never be able to compare to Weirdmageddon. Perhaps the climatic finale of the sequel might surpass it, but we'll have to wait and see. The egg is a shared idea between a friend and me. The Ford and Elaine talk won't be for a while, so that's another thing to wait for. Elaine will of course spend more time with Dipper. I promised that would happen in the sequel, and I plan to deliver. The clones will show up maybe a few more times, but they don't play a huge role.****

 ** **DomesticatedPiggy: I wouldn't expect her to full recover so quickly, after what she went through. I'm glad you liked my original chapter. That took a while to plan and figure out what was happening with everyone. She and Ford will have to interact at some point, and you'll like it when I reach that point. Also, thanks for the review over on my Bendy story!****

 ** **I don't own Gravity Falls, and Asger belongs to the core of justice.****

"Speaking"

 _ _Thinking__

 _ ** **Bill speaking****_

* * *

Elaine's POV

 _ ** **Got to say, kid. That goop Shooting Star put on you does not look flattering.****_

"... got to agree with that one." I stared at my reflection in the mirror, wringing out the water in the facecloth in my hands. True to my words, I had not left Mabel's side for the past two days. Makeup, nails getting painted, and those painful rom-com movies she and her friends adore; I suffered through it all. Still, it did make it all worthwhile, seeing how much fun she was having. __Not that I hated the hair thing. She actually managed to make a smooth bun, instead of the mess I pull off.__ Rubbing it on my cheeks to wash off the foundation, I winced at the raw skin when I lowered it. "What'd she use to apply this with? Cement?"

Another blessing from constantly hanging around Mabel, was that I hadn't had much time to worry about Ford. Between our fun, helping around the gift shop whenever Soos or Stan requested it, I hadn't seen except for food. Even then, there seemed... "I'm breaking the silent oath again. You see something's bothering Ford, right?"

 ** _ ** _Heh. There's always something bothering him, Angel. Whether it's me, you, or the nearest gnome attack. Sixer isn't one to relax._**_** "True, true. I wonder what it is though." Moving over to the towel rack on the wall, I hung the damp cloth over the cool metal. "Do you think it's something to be concerned about?" In regards to how last summer went, when Ford kept to himself, nothing good usually came from it.

Gideon, Candy, Grenda, and Kat all swore not to breathe a word to the Pines family about the phoenix Not all adventures had to be shared, and Stan would possibly have a conniption if he realized we had an explosive flaming chick hiding out in a primarily wooden building. That didn't mean we didn't do something more about it. When Gideon, Mabel, and I had returned to his house, I had asked for his assistance in adding the newly discovered animal to my journal. The white haired boy was eager to assist, no doubt from how intrigued he was from Ford's old research in journal two. Using different types of pencils, I had given a fair bit of detail in the orange and red flames that curled off her feathers, and the intelligence in those blue eyes. __I hadn't had that much fun writing an entry in a while.__

"You haven't discovered anything yet, have you?" Opening the bathroom door, I started off down the hallway towards the staircase. "Nothing to help... this?" I tried to avoid talking, I really did. But it was almost impossible! He would keep talking, and a mental weight kept pressuring me to respond back. Not Bill himself, no. It was just hard not to answer back to someone who was stuck with you all the time.

 ** _ ** _No. I'm still thinking on it_**_** , Bill grumbled. Clearly, he hated not having an answer to this yet too. **_**_What do you have in mind for the day?_**_**

"Pacifica and Asger are finally coming over. She got a break from her job, and he got settled into the mansion." Stepping off, I slid into the living room. All conversation with the demon was shoved to the back, making sure that the two occupants of the room, Soos and Dipper, were none the wiser. "Hello, guys. What are we up to today?"

"Oh, hey, Elaine!" Dipper smiled, gesturing to the television. A video game console was hooked up, one that reminded me of a combination of a PS4 and Xbox, and the screen displayed a futuristic third-person shooter game. From the current camera angle, I couldn't see the persona being controlled. All I could see though, was that Dipper was doing a half-decent job at destroying the current monsters rushing him. "Grunkle Stan is running the Shack today because Soos wanted to show me this game that came out last year."

"Dude, you ever hear of Bloodcraft?" Soos asked, leaning against the back of the couch as Dipper furiously pounded the buttons of the controller. "The latest release happened just weeks after you three left."

"Bloodcraft? Sounds like a merger of a bunch of shooting games from my dimension," I remarked. Moving into the room, I took a seat beside Dipper. __Not like I ever cared for any of them though.__ "Which one is this in the series?"

"Overdeath." A large explosion sent the avatar soaring sideways, with the screen turning a dark splattered red at the top. Droplets of what must have been the character's blood rained down from above, leaving it the same gory color. "Aw, come on."

"URSAMAJOR13 KILLED BY CHAOSSLAYER!" The deep voice of an announcer rang out, declaring the result of Dipper's demise. The words appeared to be written in the blood, with an option menu appearing at the bottom. "CONTINUE?"

"Well, this is sad." The three of us turned back to the door, finding Asger and Pacifica waiting in the entryway. Pacifica's arms were crossed, smirking at the disappointed boy. "Can take down an almighty demon, but can't play a kid's game?"

"Hey, I'm new at it," he defended. "It's been a while since I've played a game like this."

"Could be worse," Soos added. "You could be going up against PLATINUMPAZ." Dipper and I turned to look at him, visibly lost at the name. __Platinum... what? Is that some sort of really strong player?__ "Oh, yeah. They're some really strong DeathSlayer who managed to reach max level." Soos pulled out his phone, shuffling through it before turning the device around for us to look. The avatar was hidden within dark blue and black armor, with two massive horns on its helmet. A scythe was clutched in their hands, with purple bolts of electricity sparking around the blade. __DeathSlayer... yeah, that makes sense with a look like that.__

"They've gotten a bunch of achievements," Asger added. He sat down on the left arm of the couch next to me, as Pacifica moved to the other side and sat next to Dipper. The younger teen inched closer to me, making space for her. "It's near impossible to defeat them. They never speak, and never associate with any other gamer. They know all the rules, which makes them even more terrifying should you come across them."

"You dudes have fun. I better go check in on Melody." Soos maneuvered around the seat, and stepped over to the other entrance to the living room. "Mr. Pines says we've got a large group of tourists comin' in today."

"Bye, Soos." I threw a short wave at his back, before turning to Pacifica and Asger. "Do either of you want a try?" The two shook their heads, just as Dipper began to boot the game back up again.

"Me, play something like that? As if?" __Nice to see she hasn't changed,__ I thought sarcastically. "Asger?"

"I suck at this game," he replied bitterly. "I've only reached level 35 before having to stop. Any longer, and I'd probably throw my controller at the TV. You can keep playing, Dipper. Just be prepared for lots of jeering and comments."

"Fine." Booting it up again, the game ejected Dipper, or URSAMAJOR13, back into the playing field. Still seeing through the character's eyes, we watched him run off towards an ongoing battle. Leaning into the old couch, I felt a small prodding in my mind. **_**_Angel, if nothing is going to happen here, then you'd be better off searching for a way to break me out of your Mindscape._**_**

 _ _As much as I would love to, I am not passing up the chance to enjoy some normal, relaxing fun with my friends. Now, if you would be so kind... shut. Up.__ The demon's presence died out, but not before an image of said triangle flashed through my head. Eye curved in a very clear frown with his fists at his sides, slightly twitching. Sure, he could be angry all he wanted to be. It was my head, after all. For once, I was in control. He couldn't tell me what to do.

"Hey, Dipper, you're about to die again-too late." Dipper threw his arms down at Pacifica's comment as the camera went red once again. As the booming announcer voice rang out, declaring the demise once again, the blonde gave a chuckle. "You wouldn't know how to use a gun even if your life depended on it.

"Hey, I am a great shot," Dipper said. "Right, Elaine?"

"Well..." __is he?__ "You did rescue Ford from that space droid." He puffed his chest out at that. "However, it did take you a while to even have the bravery to stand it down, ready to attack. You can use one, yeah, but not very well."

"I think the mansion has a few pellet rifles," Asger spoke up, adjusting himself on the arm rest. "Maybe sometime soon, we could set up a few empty Pitt Cola cans and see who does better."

"I think Mabel might be the winner. She has pretty good aim with her grappling hook, so she has a good chance at getting the center." After all, she used it to snag herself and her brother out of the air after falling from the robot, and used it to escape a rampaging demon. She had good control of her breathing in order to aim without missing.

"Yeah, well, what do you guys know? I'm gonna prove myself right now by going after the nearest boss. That'll show y-what?" The remote slipped from Dipper's hands, as brown eyes narrowed at the console with a confused frown. "What is... that?"

"Dipper, is something wrong? What are you looking at?" He grabbed my wrist, pulling me off the couch and over to the black box. "Hey!"

"Look." Pointing at where the red, yellow, and white plugs went into the television set, I could see what his better sight had picked up on. It was nearly invisible, but a faint hole had appeared around them. Not inside the set, no. The hole, with its contents like the infinite deepness of space, appeared off of the TV, but encased the plugs. Leaning his head to the side, Dipper glanced between the odd sight and the box itself. "It's not touching anything but the outlets."

"Is that... a rift?" Asger's low and nervous voice, accompanied by the question itself, struck one of the cords in my head. __A... rift?__ N-no. No, no, no. That was-how was that possible? Bill, he-the demon had no powers left!? We were inside the Shack, with a still functioning weirdness barrier! How was that in the living room-no, better yet, how was Bill inside my head despite the barrier around the Shack!?

 ** _ ** _Because I've got nothing for that 'barrier' of yours to hold back_**_** , came the quick reply. __****Call me what you will, kid, but without any powers, there's nothing that magic of Sixer's can stop from entering. As for that, I don't really have an answer.****__ Bill hummed, running the newly discovered dilemma over. **_**_That isn't my work, and you know it. It doesn't have my aura. No, something's not right here, and there's a strong chance it's relating back to us._**_**

 _ _Back to... why you're inside my head?__ I didn't have time for this. I just-we had to figure one thing out at a time. "Dipper, we need to get Ford now." Blue sparks shot off from the rift, and Asger jumped off the couch, tackling Dipper beside me, just as Pacifica grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me backwards. The electricity lashed out, crackling through the air as a bright light flashed across my eyes. There was screaming, possibly from me as well, before the only sound left to be heard in the living room was muffled. Distant. Were we loud enough to alert the entire house? Or was it only in my head that we were that loud?

It was... similar to when the portal's machine exploded in the basement. Not as horrible, but... this was eerily similar. __What... was that?__ "E...! El...! Wake up!" Whoever dragged me was shaking me now, this time from the side. Blinking the spots out of my eyes, I rolled onto my back. Pacifica looked down at me, hair slightly askew. "Where did they go?"

"Where did... Dipper?" Bolting upright, I looked around the room. "Dipper, Asger? Guys, where are you?" Pacifica tugged on my sleeve, mouth hanging open in silent shock and stared towards the TV. Facing the screen, the camera view was booted back to above the character instead of through their eyes. And the... character... characters!? "Dipper!?"

The twin and teen looked above them, standing out in the dusty grey landscape. The monitor was fuzzy around the edges, glitching with the occasional sparks from moments ago. Rocky cliff faces were everywhere, leaving our friends in a barren wasteland. "Elaine! Pacifica! Where are you!?" Dipper called out, cupping his hands to his mouth. He sounded clear, but at the same time, distant. Which, as of right now, was pretty accurate. __Of course he's distant, he's inside a television!__

"Where are we?" Pacifica repeated. "Where are you!? You're in the game!"

"We're what!?" Asger rested a hand on Dipper's shoulder, trying and failing to calm the younger boy down.

"It must have been that rift. I think we got sucked into the console." Looking back to the pale blue sky, Asger searched for a sign that we were watching. "Are you two still in the Shack?"

"We're watching everything right now," I explained hurriedly. "Dipper, we need to get Ford right now. He'll know what to do."

"No, no, we don't want to get him." __But you just said earlier we should!__ "Elaine, we can't let the others know about this until it's necessary, okay? Whatever is bothering him right now, we don't need this on top of it." **_**_What do you know? Pine Tree picked up on that too._**_** "Do you have any ideas on how to get us out?"

Drawing my legs into a criss-cross position, I took up the remote off the floor. "Um, well... maybe you have to defeat that boss you suggested earlier? Sort of like how you and Ford had to defeat that wizard from last summer to return to normal, right?"

"Oh." Dipper's eyes widened as he nodded in understanding. "Soos told Mabel, Stan, and I this story when we fell into the Bottomless Pit last summer. Defeating the boss in a pinball game did the trick, so maybe that's what we have to do here."

"That shouldn't be too hard. One thing though. Elaine, there's one remote. Who exactly are you controlling right now?" I lifted the grey plastic closer to my face, shifting my gaze from it to them. __I have a very strong feeling I know who it is.__ Placing my left thumb on the joystick, I gently pushed it forward. The camera focused on Dipper, and we heard a small cry as he began walking off in a random direction.

"I guess that answers your question!" He hollered back at Asger. "Elaine, cut that out!" Lifting my thumb up again, Dipper's legs stopped short, sending him stumbling forward and onto his face. "Warning, please."

"Sorry." Dipper got up, dusting off his pants. "Just... tell me which direction we need to travel."

"Got it." Correcting my hold on the remote, I once again started guiding Dipper along. I could see the similarities in the board game from last year, from helping our friends to the victory, to the actual appearance change. Though he didn't have a tunic and pointed ears, Dipper's outfit did seem suited for travel and fighting. A dark red coat barely missed the ground at his boot-clad feet, with a black turtleneck and grey pants with a large amount of pockets. Two holsters hung from his side, carrying blasters that suited his size.

Asger, on the other hand, was wearing an entirely mechanized suit of red and white armor. His head, lacking a helmet, stood out in the suit. A faded crest was displayed on his chest, in between the massive shoulders the outfit gave him, and the ground gave small thuds with each step he took. __I also bet that his weapons are in that suit itself.__ "This shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"Please don't jinx us," Dipper muttered. "Pacifica, you must've seen Asger play this before. Can you guide me towards the... Monstrous Commander of the Ethereal Flames?" I slapped a hand to my mouth as a laugh escaped me, hearing the slow and confused question. "I-I didn't name this thing!"

"Sure you didn't. Alright then, dear URSAMAJOR13, forward!" The controller warmed in my hands, and a flash of blue writing appeared above their heads. "Huh?"

"FLAMINGANGEL00 HAS JOINED!" **_**_Suits you, doesn't it? What the-hey!_**_** A sharp pain through my head, throwing the demon to the back of my mind. Grip tightening on the control, and thumb making Dipper move a little faster, I tried to play off the sudden hurt I created. There was no time for comment by the hitchhiking demon. I had to focus on getting my friend out of there, and I didn't need Bill being a distraction.

"The faster we get this done, the better," Dipper spoke up, as if he understood what I was doing. Arms swinging at his sides, he joined in with my efforts to get them to their destination. "Hurry!"

"Wha-hey! Dipper, wait up!" Asger gave a heavy sigh, and the speakers echoed with the banging of each heavy footstep. His lunges were large, but quite slower than the younger male. "I can only move so fast!"

"He should've picked a better model. He wears a suit similar to that on his account." Pacifica moved to the couch, nestling into the warmth still held within the seat from the previous occupants. Choosing to rest my back against the couch as well, still stationed on the floorboards. "He better as good with that gun as he is using it with a controller."

"What is he, exactly? Him and Dipper?" If this Paz-whatever person was a DeathSlayer, then what did that make them?

"Asger is a MechaMan, and Dipper... is a Gunslinger," she replied slowly, pausing to think it over.

"MechaMan, huh? Man, no matter how good the game looks, they couldn't come up with anything more clever." The dusty and dreary landscape slowly began to give way to more colors, albeit slightly faded ones. Swirling yellow patterns danced across the dusty ground beneath their feet, and large towering outcrops branched up on either side of them. The small map in the top right corner mapped out the outlines of the geography, with two blinking yellow dots representing Dipper and Asger. However, there was no sign of a health bar. __Probably has some sort of appearance in a fight.__ "See anything yet, guys?"

"Hmm... over there." Dipper pointed to a small hole in the left ridge, just underneath his own height. "There's something inside." Nodding, I curled the joystick around and brought him around to the tiny cavern. It wasn't very dark, but it had a bend to the right to hide someone if they needed it. There, beside a stalagmite, was a metallic brown chest. "What do you is in it?"

"I'll check." Spinning the right joystick around, Dipper, Pacifica, and I looked back at the entrance. All we could see were a pair of legs walking repeatedly into the cliff's face. "I, um... you check."

"He can't bend over, can he?" Pacifica chuckled above me, watching her cousin's obvious dilemma.

"Another downside of that model." Sitting the remote on the floor, Dipper's entire body seemed to slump before straightening up.

"Did you let go, Elaine?" He asked, examining his arms.

"I did. I guess... not touching the controller lets you regain complete control. Should I just leave it alone?" Dipper stepped forward, kneeling down and unlocking the chest. Bringing the lid upwards, we stared at contents tucked neatly inside. Four vials, each with a glowing green liquid inside and capped with a cork "Potions?"

"Those will come in handy." Asger's voice rang out from outside. "Better stock up." Reaching in at his command, he brought the items out and slipped them into his jacket's pockets.

"Got them." Retreating to the entrance, the mechanized teen sidestepped to let him through. "What next?"

What next was finding the boss-monster... thing, and go and destroy it. __I'd say there'd be no lives at risk here, but... this is just as real was Dipper, Ford, and I on the board game. Does that mean that... if they get hurt or... no.__ No, I was not going down that route. "We find the thing you were looking f-holy! Move!" Snatching the controller off the floor, letting myself register as the player again and taking control of Dipper, I threw him off to the side. Pushing off the ground with an arm, he slid across the dirt as a loud explosion left a crater where he was just standing. Asger's weaponized form went soaring through the air, tumbling several feet as he made impact with the ground. Just as I had predicted earlier, a health bar appeared over both of their heads. Three large bars with two thin lines dividing them up, with the first bar taking a beating. __Dipper!__

"What... the heck was that!?" Asger panted, spitting out a mouthful of dirt. A mechanical and very animalistic growl tore through the air, and Dipper lifted his head up from a crouched position to look at their surprise attacker. Three large blackened claws on each hand, with a face that reminded me a lot of the Alien, had it not been a primarily white color. __No. Not white, that's... all bone.__ It was using bones as armor, masking the dark and shriveled skin underneath. It was still clear though, that those legs were powerful. With no sight of anything nearby, did that mean it ran to our location?

"How did it find us!?" Dipper shrieked. His free hand went straight to one of his blasters, twirling it out of its holster and holding it shakily at the monster's head. The dome of its head was black, and where the majority of the rest of it was covered in bone, there were tiny holes where its nose was hiding behind.

"Strong sense of smell, probably," Pacifica pointed out. "It doesn't look like ugly there has any ears."

"Elaine, do something! Press X!" Shifting my right thumb over the bottom button, I immediately began to mash it. __Die, die, die, die, die!__ Jumping to his feet, Dipper also brought his other gun out, letting me have control over both of them. A loud piercing shriek tore through the beast's throat, and just as I predicted with the legs, it began to sprint towards him. "Ah!"

"Hold on, Dipper!" Asger, still awkwardly sprawled out on the ground, rolled onto his side and held a palm out towards the attacker. A bright blue light formed in front of it, before a wave of energy fired from his hand, zipping across the canyon and slamming into the creature. Squealing in pain as the electricity riveted through its body, it collapsed short of Dipper and burst into a flurry of dark blue sparkles.

"I... I-I..." Asger finally got up, moving over to Dipper. "We... we got to get out of here. H-how much farther?"

"Well... it'd help if you told us what we're going after?" He looked around, checking either side of the gorge.

"It's, uh... High Seer... Infernos?" A loud slap came from behind me, and I looked back to see Pacifica and her head in her hands. "What was that?"

"You... Asger, he's gonna die." Asger nodded, understanding exactly what the blonde was saying. I, of course, remained confused. High Priest Infernos? Another bad name job, yeah, but was he dangerous?

"Dipper, you better hope you and Elaine are decent players. That boss is one of the most dangerous ones in the game." Flexing his fingers, letting the joints in his fingers clink, he started off down the road. "I'll take the lead this time. Keep a hand on one of those blasters just in case."

"Okay. Elaine, are you okay?" __Why does his voice sound so far away right now?__ "Elaine? Pacifica, is she alright?"

"I'd be snappy about that, but you can't see her. She looks really pale." **_**_Angel?_**_** A gentle prod in the back of my head, and the demon's appearance was in the rear of my vision. **_**_Kid, what happened?_**_**

What happened, was that I was having trouble breathing. "I... I-I just... Pacifica, you take over." I threw the controller backwards out of my tightening grip, letting it land beside Pacifica as I hurried to my feet.

"What? Elaine, wait!" I had already gone through the door by that point, hearing her voice behind me, and continued down the hall. I-the bathroom was out of the option. Most of the time, whenever I got into this state, I would hide there. There, or in the attic. B-but I needed to breathe. I needed t-to regain my thoughts.

 _ _There.__ Throwing open the door to the closet, where sketchy board games and illegal fireworks were stored, I slipped inside and closed it behind me. Sliding down to the floor, drawing my knees to my chest, I put a hand to my chest. The thumping of my heart was quite clear through my shirt, proving what I thought. **_**_Okay, so you're out of the room and into the closet. Now, why the heck are you panicking? Nothing bad happened to Pine Tree, kid! He's still breathing, ain't he?_**_**

"I-it hadn't occurred to me how dangerous the game was! That he was going after a boss fight to prove himself that was tougher than usual, or-or that it didn't fully settle in that he was stuck inside a video game!" __Breathe, Elaine! Breathe!__ "Cipher, unlike every other time, if Dipper gets ki... ki..." I couldn't say it. I could not say the word. "... there's no way to bring his body back to this dimension." I-it would have been my fault, mine, if something went wrong. "I-I just... I told them I'd protect them. That I'd always be there. B-but how am I supposed to do that when he's in some sort of different dimension!?" Was I projecting myself onto him? It felt like I was.

Bill remained quiet for a moment. **_**_Kid... you remember that fire spell I taught you, right?_**_**

 _ _The... fire spell?__ I hadn't used it since the minutes prior to Ford's arrival back in this dimension. There was no point in using it in Piedmont, so why bother? "Y... yeah? What does that have to do with anything?" Bill sighed, and the mental image rolled his eye.

 ** _ ** _Try and conjure a light. Use your mind and will and focus on something else._**_** Did he mean distract myself? "O-okay..." __one. Two. Three...__ "ignis." It was weak, and small. Perhaps it was how damaged my Mindscape was, or how I was bordering on a panic attack, but the orb of warm light was much tinier than when I created one in the truck with Dipper and Mabel after escaping the government agents. "... huh."

My tense expression slowly melted, soaking in the small warmth I created. It flickered and crackled with what energy I put into it, and danced around my fingertips. **_**_Feelin' better, toots?_**_** Ignoring the nickname, since those would unfortunately never go away... I actually did. Focusing on the heat of the tiny flame, making sure it didn't extinguish or touch anything, really did help calm me back down. "How'd you... know about that?" __****You've been around as long as I have, with most of that time by yourself, you pick up on a few things.****__

Bill probably didn't fully realize it, but how he had said those words... how alone was he, in the Nightmare Realm? How long was he there, until the Henchmaniacs were sent there? Kryptos, and Pyronica? The eyeball bats? He was a trillion years old, and while time didn't exist there, halting his age... "thanks for that, Cipher. But don't think that means you're still on my good side."

 ** _ ** _Whatever you say, Angel._**_** Drawing my hand around the fire, I closed it shut and put out the light. Shuffling to my feet, I opened the closet door a crack and looked out. __No sign of Ford or Stan.__ Popping it open, I slid out and quietly closed it behind me. Sneakers barely made a squeak on the wooden boards as I hurried back to the living room. **_**_You know, you did leave Llama alone there. What do you think happened to Pine Tree and Drake?_**_**

"Hopefully, they didn't go chasing after that boss-huh?" Pacifica, just as I had told her, had taken the remote. Still, seeing the girl on the edge of the couch, rapidly pressing side buttons on top of X while tilting the controller at odd angles was not what I expected. "Pacifica?"

"About time you came back!" She shouted at me, not even bothering to look over at me. "We're almost through Infernos!"

"Burn! Burn!" Turning to the screen, I witnessed Asger running full steam towards a massive monster that bore a resemblance to the previous creature Dipper and him killed. It was at least twice as tall as Asger in his robotic suit, maybe more. Its skeletal appearance under its bony armor was more muscular, with a strange symbol painted on its chest. Black spikes erupted from its back along its spine, leaking purple liquid that spilled out onto the ground. Each drop emitted a horrible hissing noise, and leaving darkened spots on the ground.

"Acid blood?" The blonde nodded, making Dipper lunge to the side to avoid a burst of fire from the creature's fanged maw.

"We're almost there!" He yelled to Asger, grinning at a successful strike to the monster's head. Its neck snapped back, howling in anguish. "Asger, give me a boost!"

"Team attack, got it!" The mechanical suit dashed to the back, kneeling on one knee. "Now!" Dipper sprinted backwards just as the alien recovered, sprinting towards the older teen. Dipper's shoulders pumped up and down, getting himself into the moment. "Ready, Pacifica!"

"Okay!" Pressing the triangle button and putting the left joystick forward, Dipper dashed forward behind Asger and jumped on top of him. Using him as a platform, he flew forward, high in the air, and brought out both blasters. Aiming straight at the shiny dome visible behind the bone surrounding its head, he fired. Two jets of red light shot out, and as they made direct contact, a blast of white light lit up my vision.

"Whoa!" Legs were taken out from underneath me, and I crumbled to the floor in a heap. Dots dancing in my eyes, I blinked back the spots to find Dipper right behind me, upside-down against the couch. Asger, holding his head and groaning, was thrown over the couch itself, hanging over the back of it. "We... we did it."

"Talk about an entrance," I muttered. "You guys alright? Everything in one piece?"

"I feel like it is," Asger sighed, rolling over the couch to flop down beside his cousin. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be in so much pain. Thanks, Pacifica. You really saved us back there."

A smug look replaced the relieved one she wore, and she crossed her arms. "What, did you really think any less of me? I only am the best at what I do, after all."

"Best, huh?" I looked from Dipper, and then to her. "Let me take a guess... you're PLATINUMPAZ?" A faint pink appeared on her cheeks, and she nodded. "Eh, I sort of saw that coming. The name suited you, and with my little... panic back there, it made sense that the ultimate gamer just so happened to be right by me. And, you know, you knew all those details on enemies and stuff." __And the initial hostility too. Lots of signs, really.__

"You really already figured it out?" Dipper asked. He picked the brown furry hat off the floor, placing it back on his head and adjusting it.

"Dipper, please. No matter how much this world isn't like the cartoon in my dimension, some things still bear a resemblance. One of which, actually, is the structure to certain events. Yes, I saw that coming the moment Soos mentioned her online name." Looking back to the TV, which was now shut off, I didn't see any flickering. No signs of sparks from a rift in the fabric of the dimension. "It looks like you beating the boss sealed it up."

"Yeah... Elaine, we really need to tell Great Uncle Ford about this." Nodding in agreement, I gripped the armrest tightly to steady myself. No, I wasn't scared. I was... concerned. Did this have anything to do with Bill? Maybe. Maybe not. If yes, wouldn't he have known about it? __But he doesn't know what's happening right now, does he?__

 ** _ ** _Got that right, Angel. You might wanna get out of dodge soon. Sixer'll be coming soon, and he might figure out what happened here._**_** "Wanna go and... wind down for a while? My heart is a little fast still."

"A drink would do us some good." Taking the lead to the kitchen, we all began to file after Asger. Dipper wisely took up the rear, making sure that the TV was off. As the three of us took a seat, he opened the fridge and brought out cold cans of Gravity Falls' iconic drink. Handing out the Pitt Cola, it was Asger who broke the silence, asking the question that was no doubt haunting us all. "Do you think this has anything to do with Weirdmageddon?"

"I wouldn't put it past the idea," Dipper mused. His head was down, deep in thought. "Bill's gone, so all of the weirdness should have left with him. Was this just a fluke, or... maybe it's a warning?" Pushing the can to the side, Dipper pulled out the white and blue journal I gifted him with last summer. Clicking open a pen, he feverishly began to write out an entry. "This is definitely something worth looking into."

"... Ford is going to get wind of this, even if it vanished." All three of them turned to me at my low words. I was staring down at the can, face scrunched up. "I fear that... I don't know why I'm scared, but there's something... wrong here. But I just can't figure out what it is."

Pacifica tapped her manicured nails against the table, running over my fears in her head. I wasn't wrong. There was something up there, and no one-not even the dream demon himself-knew what it was. "Stay alert, I suppose."

"That's all we can do." Asger's final comment led to silence between the four of us, and to wondering over what had happened. __Can do... hey, Cipher?__

 ** _ ** _Yeah?_**_** He was curious. Good. That meant I had his attention.

 _ _We made it clear a while ago we were... going to work together to figure out what was happening with this. Why you are stuck in my head. As much as it pains me to say-well, think this... I'm going to need your help. Whatever just happened back there, it must have to deal with us. I don't know how, or why, but it must.__ I could see him, in the back of my mind giving a slight nod in agreement. He saw a connection too. What it was, however, remained a mystery to everyone. Visible, or otherwise. __Then until that happens, promise me you'll help with this too. Because the sooner we figure this out, the sooner my twins are safe, my mind is mine alone... and you will leave this dimension alone for good__.

* * *

 ** **Hey. Did you guys know that it's been roughly three years since Gravity Falls ended? Honestly, it does not feel that long. Guess that's due to the fact I'm still writing for it, and the fact journal three came out over the years. The basic, and the limited edition.****

 ** **The video game idea came from an online code hidden in the graphic novel. Using the simple piece of information on Pacifica, I managed to create this. It's a little predictable, that she was the gamer mentioned at the start, but I hope it went well.****

 ** **Until next time!****

 ** **Angel****


	10. Author's Note

**As of right now, I'm putting the story on an indefinite hiatus.**

 **I've planned it all out, and I want to see it to the very end, but I've lost all interest in the fandom and I have had no time for writing. Whether or not this story will continue is hard to say, but if anything happens and my motivation returns, then so will the sequel.**

 **Thank you everyone for reading.**

 **Angel**


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